


Side Effects

by Transformersfan123



Series: Side Effects [1]
Category: Transformers (Bay Movies)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-03-03 03:54:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 33
Words: 52,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13332954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Transformersfan123/pseuds/Transformersfan123
Summary: Just because Sam couldn't hear them, didn't mean the Primes had left. They said they had been watching him for a long time, and they hadn't stopped just because he'd met them. Rated T for safety. Edits are complete!





	1. Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This has been a long, long time in coming, but I've finally decided to sit down and edit my entire Side Effects story. I've decided to update one chapter at a time, but the first ten or so should be up by today because I want to get this done. That and it is very interesting to see how my writing style has improved over the years. So here it is: Side Effects, edited!
> 
> Original comments: Okay, I know I have a lot of other stories in progress, but I had to write this one. The plot bunny has been bugging me since I saw the ROTF movie.
> 
> I mean if you seriously think about it, Sam dies, talks to the original Primes, and has the Allspark inside of him all with no side effects. It seems really silly to me. I mean, it's alien to humans, it should do something to Sam. I hope that you like the story. Check my comments up at the top for the other chapters. I'll have to explain some things.
> 
> Please Read & Review and questions and suggestions are welcome.

Sam swore as dirt and rock exploded on his right and rained down on him. He curled up tighter, closing his eyes as fear made his gut clench. Another shot rushed overhead and hit the ground about ten feet in front of him. He yelled in fear, leaping to his feet and running as fast as he could away from the heated battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons.

Sam ducked behind another rock as he cursed his luck. This whole week had been bad, starting with the breakup. Mikaela had broken up with him Monday morning. She had told him that he didn't spend enough time with her, instead spending quite a bit of it with the Autobots. Sam had replied back that he was curious about them, and Mikaela had growled that she needed some attention, too. It had eventually escalated into an argument and, in a rage, Mikaela had stormed out. Sam hadn't seen her since.

In anger, Sam had run outside to Bumblebee, who still stayed with him almost everywhere he went, gotten in the Camaro, and told him to drive. Bumblebee complied, and soon they were outside the city, racing through the countryside. By that time, Sam had lost the battle with tears, and they had started to slip down his face. Sensing Sam's pain, Bumblebee made soft cooing noises with what remained of his vocalizer, and the human boy had soon calmed down and fell fast asleep.

During the next few days, Sam lost track of where they went. Bumblebee seemed to know he wanted to be alone and only stopped in small towns to let the boy get food. Sam told Bumblebee what had happened, and the mech seemed content to just listen. That morning, they had driven into a desert only to be ambushed by some Decepticons.

By the time Optimus, Ratchet, Ironhide, plus a few other Autobots, and the NEST agents had gotten there, Bumblebee had taken quite a beating. The battle heated up quickly, leading up to the point where Sam was ducking behind any cover he could find just to stay alive.

The sound of metal on metal rang out behind him, and a body soared above him and landed a good twenty-five feet away. Sam watched as the Decepticon stood up, firing shots into what the boy presumed was the Autobot who had thrown him. The Decepticon finished giving what Sam recognized as a self-satisfied look on his face; after spending so much time with the Autobots, Sam had come to learn how to read their facial expressions exceedingly well, along with Lennox and Epps. To Sam's horror, the Decepticon looked down at him and gave the Cybertronian equivalent of a gleeful smile. Sam slipped under the mech's reaching hand and started to run again. He gave a yelp as he was grabbed up by another Decepticon.

Sam struggled desperately in the Decepticon's grip, but to no avail. The human boy simply wasn't strong enough to break the mech's firm, almost painful grip. He heard a high-pitched keen, and his world jerked as a yellow figure slammed into the Decepticon, sending him crashing to the ground. Bumblebee's optics were glowing bright with anger as he crushed the wrist of the hand that held his precious boy and freed the human. He made a couple staticky noises, gently holding the boy up so he could search him for damage.

"I'm fine, Bee, just a couple of bruises," Sam reassured his guardian.

Bumblebee smiled at the boy, nuzzling him fondly. Sam gave a soft laugh and shooed the mech towards the battle.

"Go help Optimus and the others, Bee. I'll be fine. I promise."

Bumblebee reluctantly set the boy down and went to rejoin the battle. Sam ducked down, sliding behind another rock. He couldn't help but muse that all of the shelter from the battle out here in the desert comprised of a rock or two, and those were quickly being blown away from the intensity of the battle. An almighty crash rang out, and Sam had to look, desperate to see what was happening with his friends.

Ironhide was on the ground, a Decepticon looming over him, optics gleaming in hatred, ready for the kill. In an explosion of metal, the Decepticon flew backward only to be replaced by Optimus, who reached down to help the weapons' specialist back to his pedes. The black Autobot gave a smile, nodding at the Prime in gratitude before racing back into the fight. Optimus shook his head and chuckled fondly at the black mech as he rejoined the battle.

Sam was so intent on the exchange with Optimus and Ironhide that he didn't hear the Decepticon until it was far too late. Spinning around, he was horrified to see the Decepticon that had been standing over Ironhide reaching for him with vengeance on his faceplates. The human boy cried out as he was picked up by a rough, scratched, metal hand.

"Sam!" Optimus bellowed.

Sam's hands were mercifully free, and he desperately tried to remember what Ratchet had taught him about Cybertronian anatomy. If he could just pull a few wires in the wrist, the hand grasping him would go slack and become completely immobile. That meant he could get free! The Decepticon growled, a low, threatening tone, and said something in Cybertronian, the buzzing, static-filled noise hurting the human's ears, before throwing the human boy to the ground. Hitting the ground hard enough to knock the breath out of him, pain made his world fuzzy around the edges. It was a monumental effort just to draw in a single, desperate gasp of air.

"Sam!" a voice yelled, but his pain-addled mind couldn't tell who it was.

Pushing himself up enough to see the Decepticon standing over him, Sam's focus narrowed to the gun pointed down at the him, a leer on the face black and silver mech's face. A flash of yellow blurred at the right of the Decepticon, but before Bumblebee could reach him, the muzzle of the gun flashed brightly.

Sam was consumed by a bright light, so very bright he had to squeeze his eyes closed, and even then the light burned his eyes through the lids. There was a huge explosion, and the boy screamed as pain shot through his entire body. This pain was different than what he'd felt when the Decepticon had thrown him to the ground. That had been an ache, the sensation of bruises forming. But this, this felt as if his insides were trying to twist apart. Quite suddenly, the light was gone, and Sam landed on something hard and unforgiving before blissful darkness carried him away.


	2. Cybertron

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the edited chapter 2. Enjoy! I have since revised comm link speech to inside the arrows and I have removed the x's from this writing style.
> 
> Original comments: Here is the second chapter folks. The words in italics are comm link speaking and the x's are time skips or change in perspective.

Sam let out a low groan as he slowly regained consciousness. The first thing he registered was that he was in pain. After a moment of just breathing through the deep-seated ache, he gingerly started to feel down his body for any major damage. There didn't seem to be any, which relieved him. With a start, his eyes flew open, and he sat up in surprise when he realized he was stark naked. The sudden movement was a very bad idea, and he curled up into a tight little ball as agony lashed violently through his body. He spent the next several minutes fighting back tears. When he could think and the pain was back to a manageable level, he took a deep breath, slowly stretching out to evaluate just how badly he was hurt. Sam was pleased when he found that, despite the high level of pain, it all seemed to be from extremely stiff muscles.

The boy struggled to his feet, leaning heavily against the nearest object as he stretched his sore body out. When the agony was down to a dull ache, he finally looked around to assess his surroundings for the first time. The first thing he noticed was that it was dark, like a nice night, but there was no moon, the glittering stars above the only lights to be seen. But, oddly enough, Sam found that even though it was so dark, he could see perfectly. After thinking over the strange phenomenon, he decided that his eyes were just used to the darkness. Then he glanced at the thing he was leaning on. He did a double take, running his hand up the smooth surface in disbelief. To his shock, he found his eyes weren't lying. The entire structure was made of a peculiar metal that he didn't recognize, at least not completely. The Earthling could swear that he had seen it before, but he couldn't really remember where. He chalked it up to his mind still working slowly from his prolonged unconsciousness.

Sam looked down, trying to clear his head, and he was incredibly surprised to see that the ground he was standing on was covered in…no, it was _composed of_ the same material. Disbelief filled him as his eyes lifted up to stare out into a landscape of metal. The teenager drew in a sharp breath in at the view. It was both hauntingly beautiful and frightening at the same time. Hauntingly beautiful because the starlight glistened off of certain points, giving the place an eerie light, and frightening because he now had a very good idea of where he was. What he wanted to know was how he got there. _I have to be dreaming!_ There was no way in hell that he was on Cybertron.

The human shook his head, the dull ache that was still in his muscles proving that he was not asleep. So, he really was on Cybertron…Sam shivered, suddenly acutely aware that he was naked, and that he had no way of getting clothes. He couldn't even make a covering; all he saw around him was metal. Sam finally decided to find someplace he could stay that would help him keep warm, or, as his temperature seemed to be level and steady, at least safe from attack. He set off, treading carefully to keep from cutting his feet, and watching the area nearby just in case there were any Decepticons watching.

After walking for about an hour, Sam came across an enormous structure. It was so tall that he couldn't make out the top of it. A gaping hole was in it, and after a few seconds of staring intently, Sam realized that it was a Cybertronian building! _The doorway's taller than even Megatron is!_ Sam quickly moved past the building, looking down what had to be a street to see more buildings. They were all different shapes and sizes, only slightly resembling Earth buildings. Well, at least he'd found a city. That was some sort of indication that he wasn't alone, which might not have been the best thing, but it comforted him anyway.

As he walked through the city, Sam found himself looking around in wonder. The buildings were enormous, and they all had magnificent designs and symbols carved into them. He was so enamored with the novel metropolis that he nearly screamed, and in fact let out an undignified noise, when there was a soft sound somewhere behind him. Jumping in shock, he ran into the nearest building. He looked around desperately for a place to hide before spotting some raised metal pieces. The boy hurried over to them and wriggled inside of them, somehow not slicing his skin open. He found himself in a roomy little alcove. There was enough room for him to stretch out completely, and it was tall enough that he could stand with room to spare.

The human boy stayed still for about fifteen minutes then decided it was safe to move around. Yawning, he stretched out, trying to get comfortable. Even though he had been out for who knows how long, he was exhausted. He curled up, drifting off to a dreamless sleep within minutes of laying down.

Several hours later, he awoke to the growling of his stomach. He sat up, rather disgruntled, and rubbed his eyes to clear them of sleep. It took a few seconds of looking around before he remembered where he was. A snarl brought his attention back to his stomach, and a new thought started to worry him. When he'd first come to, he was only concerned about getting to a place where he would be warm and safe. He hadn't even considered that food would be a problem. Putting his head in his hands, he sat there until his stomach rumbled a third time. He then decided that he might as well look around to see if he could find something, but he wasn't very hopeful.

The teenager made sure to look around carefully before he slipped out of the building and into what he assumed was an alley. Again, he couldn't help but notice how, though it was dark, he had no trouble at all in seeing so clearly. Shaking that thought out of his head, he concentrated on sneaking through the alley as quietly as possible. However, he made sure not to wander too far away from the building he'd slept in, as that was the safest place he knew of on this strange planet.

A few hours later, just when he was about to give up and go back, he noticed a soft, pink glow that cut through the dark. After so long in the gloom, the light hurt his eyes just a little bit. The boy slipped into the narrow crevice that emitted the dim radiance. Kneeling down, he saw that it was a liquid light. It was the first thing that he'd seen that wasn't metal. Reaching out hesitantly, he touched it. The substance was warm and had an energetic feel to it, sort of like electricity, only the shock was more pleasant. Cupping his hands to fill them with the glowing fluid, he gingerly lifted his hands up to his mouth and tasted. It was smooth and so very sweet, like cream. He started violently as an unexpected jolt of energy zapped through him. To his surprise, his hunger lessened quite a bit with only a single mouthful. He dipped his hands back into the pool to take another draught, shivering at the wonderful _zing_ of energy.

Sam was amazed. With only two handfuls of this wondrous solution, he'd lost his hunger, and he actually felt more energized and alive than he'd ever felt before in his nineteen years. He smiled as he stood up—all of the aches and pains of earlier were gone, only a dull memory. He knew that he could get to like it here, in the peace and quiet of a ruined world, even if he was alone. He needed some time alone after that whole breakup, and, though he never would have chosen it on his own, this was a good way to get it.


	3. Captured

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has no original comments because I split the last chapter in two. This is the second half of what was chapter 2 in the original story.

Sam hummed softly to himself as he walked through the empty street. It had been a few weeks since he had arrived on Cybertron. At least he thought it had been that long, if his sleep cycle was an accurate reading of time, as there wasn't any sun or moon to measure it like on Earth. Already he was used to life here, even the fact that he was buck naked all the time; hey, there was nobody there to see him, so why should he worry? His favorite thing, and in fact one of the only things to do, was explore the city. At this point, he knew his way around for about three miles in every direction, including most buildings. And, though at times he was lonely, he loved his life here. It was so peaceful, so quiet, and there was so much that interested him, so much to learn, even without a teacher.

The boy was walking through an alleyway a mile and a half north of his little alcove, just looking around and thinking to himself, occasionally out loud. He sighed wistfully at a thought of his guardian, looking up at one of the beautiful, alien buildings he gotten familiar with. Running his hand over the smooth metal, he started at a noise behind him that made him stiffen and spin around. He crouched low, ready to run at a moment's notice. If there anything that this planet had taught him above all else, it was stealth and speed; any movement could be a Decepticon ready to kill him, and he had barely avoided four encounters.

For the past week, every time he had heard a noise it had turned out to be a falling piece of metal or something else that wasn't dangerous. This time was different. The boy saw a silhouette down at the end of the alley at the end where he'd turned in. The figure, definitely mech-sized, was kneeling down, observing something on the ground. Sam stayed completely still as the mech picked whatever he was looking at up, tilting his head.

Quite suddenly, optics glanced up, the gaze locking directly on Sam. The mech jumped to his pedes, reaching for his gun with the rapidity that war forced upon a person. When the bot took a step forward, raising his firearm. Sam bolted down a small path that branched off from the main alley. There was a shout in Cybertronian, and footsteps sounded behind him. As he ducked past a building's fallen support beam, a burst of weapon-fire pierced the gloom. A wedge hanging out from a ruined structure above his head dented as a bullet slammed into it. The boy gasped and ran faster, fear rising as he ducked and dodged through the familiar alley, gunfire rushing over his head again.

Sam had made it about halfway down the alley when an explosion of heat at his back hurtled him into the wall to the right of him. At full speed, his head hit the wall, and he hit the ground already unconscious.

The mech lowered his weapon, hesitantly walking forward, ready to shoot the…whatever it was, if it moved again. He stopped beside the little thing, and knelt down to poke it. The Cybertronian shuttered his optics in surprise as he realized that the little creature was biological and most definitely not native to his planet. The red and orange mech carefully picked up the organic and held it in his hand as he started walking back to base. He activated his comm. link, optics lingering on the soft flesh.

_Perceptor speaking._

_Perceptor, this is Hot Rod. I found something that I think you'll be interested in._


	4. Perceptor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is what was chapter three, but is now chapter four. Enjoy!
> 
> Original comments: Here's the third chapter. I did use the orange ceiling as a reference to the G1 series as in that series Teletraan-One was all orange. Anywho, peoples, this is where the freaky stuff starts to happen to Sam. I know that what's happened to Sam so far is weird, but it gets weirder. I swear by the Allspark that the next chapter will explain a whole lot.
> 
> As usual, please Read and Review. I'm really eager to see what you think of what's happening to Sam. If you have any suggestions on what else could happen, I'm open.

A soft groan passed his lips as he was reluctantly pulled back to consciousness. There was a dull ache that radiated throughout his entire body, bringing him fully back to himself. He was laying on something that he thought felt like metal, but it was unlike any metal he'd ever felt before, nice and soft, and it molded to his body. The fact that he'd hadn't felt it before was actually saying something considering he'd been on a fully metal planet for three weeks. Over the past few weeks, he had found that, although the Autobots had always said Cybertron was completely made of metal, it hadn't really registered that there were many different kinds of metal. It had been quite the informative experience.

Sam finally opened his eyes and found himself blearily staring up at a dull, orange ceiling. After slowly, painstakingly sitting up, he glanced around to find himself in a laboratory of sorts. Or at least that's what he thought it was. There were all sorts of tools, like the ones that he'd seen Ratchet using on the Autobots back on Earth. Once or twice, the medic had asked if he could use a few of them on Sam, but the boy had always refused. He was afraid of what some of those objects _looked_ like, let alone what they would _do_ , no matter that he knew Ratchet would never, ever hurt him.

The boy blinked in confusion as a thought occurred to him; _How did I get here?_ He remembered strolling through the alley before hearing something…Sam gasped as the memories flooded back. They were quickly followed by questions. Who was that mech? Was he an Autobot or a Decepticon? Where exactly was he and what did the mech plan to do with him? Did the mech have friends? The teenager found himself trembling in trepidation at the next question that popped into his mind: _What did they do to me while I was unconscious?_

Sam started when the door to the room slid open. A red mech came in, looking up from his datapad. He started toward the human with a smile on his faceplates, but he stopped when he noticed the organic moving away from him, a frightened look in his eyes. The organic had his knees up to his chest, covering himself as he scooted away from the Cybertronian. The mech's expression softened as he opened his mouth and started to speak.

"Do not be afraid, little one. I will not harm you."

Sam froze and stared at the red mech, confusion working its way past the fear. He looked the mech up and down, a bemused expression appearing on the Cybertronian's face as he did so.

"Is something the matter?" he asked.

_"Yeah, how do you speak my language?"_ Sam replied after a moment's hesitation.

The mech's head tilted as his optics showed confusion. After a few moments, he shook his head.

"I must apologize, but I do not understand your way of speaking. Might I ask if you can understand me, and, if so, could you perhaps speak in this tongue?"

Sam gawked at the mech, shocked beyond belief. How was it possible that he could understand what the mech was saying when the mech couldn't understand him? Unless…Was it possible that whatever that bright flash of light was, it had also planted Cybertronian in his brain? The mech was still staring at him expectedly, so the boy took a deep breath before concentrating on how he spoke, making sure it was Cybertronian.

"Are…are you Autobot or Decepticon?" the teenager asked; it felt so strange to form the alien words with human lips.

Delight appeared on the red mech's faceplates. "Oh, thank Primus you speak our language! I am so very eager to learn about you. As to your inquiry, I am Autobot." To prove it, he moved so that his right shoulder flashed in the bright overhead lights. The Autobot insignia stood out clearly, and Sam sighed in relief.

"Ah, and your _name_?" he asked as he relaxed; Autobots were less likely to hurt him.

"My… _name_?" the mech asked. "You reverted back to that first language on the last word. Would you please translate it?"

"Oh, um, your…designation! That's the word. What's your designation?"

"Oh," the mech chuckled. "My designation is Perceptor. Your designation?"

"Oh, _Sam._ "

"What strange speech does your designation come from?" Perceptor asked, interest clearly piqued.

" _English,_ " Sam replied with a nervous smile.

" _E-English?_ " Perceptor asked then shook his head. "No, I don't want you to strain yourself… _Sam_. Hm, would you mind if I give you a designation from the Cybertronian tongue?"

Sam blinked, "Um, sure. I-I guess I don't mind."

"Hm…How about I call you Silverstreak, for the strip of sliver metal on your back?" Perceptor asked brightly.

"Well sure, sounds…What?!" Sam gasped, beginning to panic. "I-I don't have metal on my back!"

Perceptor looked alarmed, "Now, _Sam,_ please calm down! I might not know much about your species, but your vitals are still unstable for any species."

Sam completely ignored the Autobot as he frantically twisted around to run his hand along his back. He felt nothing out of the ordinary until he reached his spine. His entire body went rigid as he realized it was true; a thin strip of metal went the length of his spine. A large hand picked him up, but he struggled in it.

His emotions went haywire. Fear rushed through him as everything from the past few weeks filled his mind, and things that he hadn't thought to be afraid of now terrified him beyond anything he'd ever experienced. How he had gotten to Cybertron, being stark naked and completely alone for three weeks, the strange liquid that he'd been drinking. All of the things that he had been strangely comfortable with now made his brain hurt with the terror of it all. The boy started to scream, his body fritzing along with his mind as he began to beat against the hand that held him with closed fists.

" _Sam, Sam,_ whatever is the matter?" Perceptor demanded, his voice rather frightened and holding worry.

The mech hadn't realized what mentioning the metallic strip on the organic's back would do to him. The metal had melted so seamlessly into the brown flesh that Perceptor had thought it was a natural part of the boy's anatomy. Apparently, if the struggling and screaming of the poor creature was any indication, he had been very wrong. Sam's vital signs were going into overdrive. If he didn't calm down, and fast, Perceptor was positive that something bad would happen to the little human.

The red Autobot set the flailing boy as carefully as he could on the berth, trying to figure out how to calm him down. He had to snatch Sam up again as the organic being scrambled to his feet to try to bolt off the berth, a fall which would have probably injured him greatly. Given no other choice, Perceptor mentally apologized to the boy before using one finger to knock him in the head with a calculated amount of force, quickly and effectively knocking the boy unconscious. Sam's vitals immediately began to calm down, and he output a breath as he gently laid the boy down before covering him in a strip of a very soft metal to keep the boy's temperature at the proper level. The mech quietly left the medbay so that the boy could rest peacefully. He hoped he could keep the creature calm when it woke, but for now he needed a drink to calm _himself_ down. Luckily, Hot Rod could make a mean rust cube.


	5. The Primes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was chapter four, now it's chapter five. Basically add one number to what was the previous chapter. At least until I split another chapter or whatever. :)
> 
> Original comments: Okay peoples, let me just say this: Do NOT get used to me updating daily. I just can't wait any longer to find out what you guys think about the Primes. Many, many thanks to MissCHSparkles who helped me think of all the Primes' names. She is awesome.
> 
> First off there were the obvious names: Sentinel, Rodimus, and Vector. Then there were the less known Primes: Beta (yeah she's a femme), Nova, and Prima. Then we started to make them up. Stellar for the stars. Pyro for fire. Aqueous for water, Aero for air. Telluric for earth. Metallon for metal. Then we came up with a name that was the Fallen's original. It's not mentioned in this chapter, but we decided on Dual Prime, for his betrayal.
> 
> I really want your opinion on both the Primes (their personalities will become more distinct as the story goes on) and the changes I have planned for Sam, which are explained in this chapter. If you have some changes that you can think of for Sam, my audio receptors are open.

Sam felt calm and strange, as if he were just suspended midair with absolutely nothing around him. He stayed there for a while, how long he wasn't sure, before fear sliced through the peaceful air like a blade. It caused Sam to scream and jerk around trying to get away from wherever he was, trying to get back to reality, because this _had_ to be a dream! Quite suddenly, he hit ground that he hadn't known was there, wondering if it had just appeared or if it had been there the whole time. Gasping, he opened his eyes to see a rugged metal landscape, jagged pieces of metal rising up from the smooth ground that was made of the same material.

The sound of footsteps and whispering reached his ears, and terror burned through him. His only thought was to get away from the whatever, or whoever, that was making the noises, so Sam stood up and started to run, ducking and dodging through the metallic forest. Murmurs filtered through the air from behind him, and the footsteps grew closer; it sounded like there was more than one person chasing him. Whimpering, Sam dove behind one of the taller metal spikes and curled up tightly, pressing back into the metal as if he could melt into it.

The voices grew louder, and the boy was now certain that there were multiple people after him. They footsteps came even closer then stopped behind the metal pillar. Sam trembled and pressed harder into the metal, burying his face in his hands as fear nearly consumed him. The pillar shook slightly as a large hand wrapped around the top, and a thin, metallic face peered down at him. A scream tore from his throat, and the boy tried to bolt, but the mech's other hand ever-so-gently enfolded his body then lifted him up to the unfamiliar face. Sam found himself staring into golden optics, and he felt as though the mech was staring straight into his soul. The gaze soothed the human's anxiety, and when Sam visibly relaxed, the mech smiled kindly.

"There is absolutely no reason for you to fear, Sam. We will not cause you any harm," the mech said.

Recognition slowly dawned in the boy. "I…I've seen you before," Sam whispered, peering around at the mechs. "All of you. Y-you're the Primes of old, aren't you?"

The mech holding him had armor that was blue and white. He gave a solemn nod before replying. "Yes, little one, we are the Primes. And since we all know your designation, I think you should know ours. I am Sentinel Prime. The others shall introduce themselves."

"I am Rodimus Prime," a mech said as Sam turned around to look at the eleven other mechs. Rodimus had orange armor with pink twisting in spirals down his arms and legs. Soft gold was wound here and there among the other two colors, creating an interesting, swirling pattern.

Another mech inclined his head. "I am known as Vector Prime." Vector had mostly pink armor with bits of a dark green on his arms and legs.

"My designation is Nova Prime," a mech with a smooth voice said. His armor was a very dark red with yellow on his wrists and ankles.

"I am Prima Prime." Prima's armor was maroon with black streaks arranged to look like ribs.

"Call me Beta Prime," a female voice said. Beta was shaped slightly different than the others were a more feminine form, and her armor was a deep purple with red edges.

A mech that was dark blue with yellow specks spread throughout the blue; to Sam, they looked like the stars that peppered the skies. He spoke with a voice that seemed a million miles away. "Stellar Prime is the designation Primus gave me."

"Pyro Prime is my title." Pyro was red, orange, and yellow. The colors were arranged in a flame-like pattern all across his armor.

"I am Aqueous Prime." Aqueous's armor was many shades of blue. The blues overlapped in places to make a smooth transition through the many shades.

Another mech nodded at him. The mech was turquoise with lavender swirls through the bright color. "I am Aero Prime."

"I was dubbed Telluric Prime," a mech that had armor that was a variety of green colors said with an inclination of his head.

"And I am Metallon Prime," the final mech said. Metallon was silver with thin strips of black across areas of his armor.

The boy nodded slowly. "Well, that's great and all, but…" Sam hesitated then took the plunge. "Why am I here? Where am I? What do want with me? Am I…Am I dead again?"

"No, no Sam. Calm yourself. We shall explain everything," Sentinel Prime said with a soft churr deep in his chest. "Let us get more comfortable first."

With that, the Primes began to move, striding through the jagged pillars with practiced ease. Sam gazed over the landscape from his new vantage point and found that it was beautiful, in its own odd way. He noticed a clear area of smooth silver and gold colored metal that broke up the forest a short way ahead. It seemed to be their intended destination. When they arrived, the Primes sat down and settled comfortably against the metal pillars around the clearing. They faced inward and had similar designs, so Sam assumed that they had been put there deliberately, and for the purpose of the Primes' comfort.

Sentinel Prime gently set they boy down in front of him. All of a sudden, the human became acutely aware that he was totally naked, and he ducked his head as he tried to cover himself, his face blazing in embarrassment. The Primes crooned sympathetically at the abrupt shyness in the boy.

"There is nothing to be ashamed of, Sam," Rodimus said kindly. Sam muttered a reply, too embarrassed to say much of anything.

"Sam, please look at us," Aqueous said gently. Reluctantly, the glanced up after another few moments. "There is absolutely nothing for you to hide from us. We have seen you, all of you, mind and body. So you see, there is no reason to hide from us. We can understand that you feel bashful about your body, seeing as how you are human. And you are a youngling, as you will be for many years to come, which only increases your shyness, but you may be completely open with us, no matter what it is you feel or think."

Sam blinked when he processed what the Prime had said. "Wait…What do you mean that I'll be a youngling for many years to come?"

The Primes exchanged glances then looked back at the teenager. Beta reached out to slowly turn Sam around before running one of her fingers up his spine. The organic couldn't help but shiver at the sensation.

"You are changing, boy," she remarked quietly.

Recalling with shocking suddenness that Perceptor had told him about a strip of metal on his spine, his hands flew to his back as panic returned to him in a wave. A large, red and orange hand appeared in front of the boy, tilting his head up to meet comforting golden optics. Sam's arms went limp as his fear withdrew quickly, and Pyro smiled approvingly.

"Stay calm, Sam," he encouraged.

"I…I'll try," Sam whispered as his heart slowed to a steady beat again.

"That is all that we ask for, youngling," Aero said with a gracious expression.

"Now, I do believe we owe you an explanation," Telluric continued.

"An explanation of what?" Sam asked, sitting down and leaning against Sentinel's leg.

"Yes," Sentinel said with a heavy sigh. "How you got to Cybertron and how you have survived on our home planet. You are human, Sam…well, you were." The blue and white Prime shook his head. "Let us start from the beginning."

"When you were on Earth," Stellar began, "you were caught by a Decepticon. He was going to kill you, most likely for your part in the war, but we could not let that happen, Sam. So, we did the only thing we could at the time."

"What's that?" Sam asked faintly.

"We teleported you to Cybertron."

"So that's how I got to Cybertron? You teleported me here?"

"Yes, Sam, and that is also the source of your physical change," Vector said simply.

"What?"

"Well, Sam, Cybertron is no place for a human. It was not made for humans. There is no oxygen in the atmosphere. There is no human food. If we had not done what we needed to do to you, you would be dead many times over."

The boy found himself fighting back fear again. "W-what did you do to me?"

Nova spoke softly. "We had to alter both your body and mind. Your body no longer needs oxygen to survive. It also has a temperature control system built into it, as Cybertron is much colder than Earth, which will adjust your body temperature as needed. We also altered your digestive system. Energon would have burned through your human body if we hadn't. Your skin and muscles are still changing, as we did not think it wise to change you so much all at once. And we put both forms of Cybertronian into your head, so now you can speak and read the language of the Primes as well as modern Cybertronian."

"Let me get this straight. You're telling me that I'm not human anymore?" Sam croaked, his mind trying to comprehend the new information.

"No, Samuel James Witwicky, you are not human anymore, and you shall never be human again," Rodimus finished.

Tears filled the ex-human's eyes. He couldn't believe this. He wasn't human anymore. He was something new, something abnormal. His eyes overflowed, his pain and confusion slipping down his cheeks. Clicks and whistles that Sam recognized as comforting noises came from twelve vocalizers around him, and fingers stroked his skin as a pair of hands gently picked him up. After a few minutes, the teenager…the youngling calmed down. After taking a few deep breaths, Sam finally relaxed.

"I…I'm sorry," he whispered.

"There is no reason for you to be, Sam. It is so much to take in at once," Beta replied as she stroked his back, a gesture that had always annoyed him when Optimus or Bumblebee or another of the Autobots on Earth tried it. Now, though, he found it soothing, and it helped him unwind his taut emotions.

"Do you know how else I'll change?" Sam asked quietly.

"Yes," Aqueous answered. "Your skin and your muscles will eventually become metal, a living, flexible metal. You will be much stronger than any human to the point that your strength will eventually rival that of a Cybertronian of a youngling's size. Something I should inform you of is that Cybertronians are created with defensive mechanisms. It comes from the genetics in sparks, and works with the Cybertronian's body. We placed inside of you something to be your defensive mechanism. However, we are not sure what it will be yet, but you will find out in time."

"Anything else?" Sam asked.

"You will have emotional imbalances for a time, similar to the ones you experienced when you were a teenager going through puberty. It is partially from the jarring transference from human to Cybertronian, and partially from the fact that younglings tend to be unstable. They are not yet fully grown, but they are no longer sparklings, and their sparks are fluctuating between the two. Besides that, nothing else should happen to you that we know of," Prima said.

"What do you mean by nothing you know of?" Sam asked in alarm.

"We have made so many changes to your mind and body that changes could happen that we did not plan on," Prima said apologetically.

"Oh." Sam took a deep breath then looked around the eerie metallic forest again. "Wait a second. I remember freaking out in front of Perceptor in that medbay, or whatever it was, then I remember waking up here. Where am I?"

The Primes looked amused, and Metallon chuckled as he replied. "Oh, you are actually asleep in the medbay where Perceptor left you. This is all happening in your subconscious mind."

"You will be able to visit us while you sleep, and you will be able to speak with us when you are awake if you concentrate," Aero confided with a smile. "Soon it will take nothing but a thought to contact us. You will just need practice. Even if you cannot contact us at first, we will always be here when you sleep, at least for a time, while you get used to your new body and surroundings."

"During your transformation, we will be with you every step of the way. As we told you already, you may share anything with us and we shall listen and at least try to understand," Vector assured him.

A warm happiness bubbled up inside of Sam. The promises made him feel safer than he'd felt in a long time, not since he'd left Earth, not since he'd last been with his guardian. Looking up at the Primes, he smiled.

"Thanks," he said. "Um, now how do I wake up?"

"Oh, that one is simple," Beta said with a laugh. "You just wake up."

Sam blinked then felt his mind give a jerk. He became aware that he was lying on soft metal, and the dream world began fading. The boy took a deep breath and waved to the Primes, unsure of what else to do.

"I guess I'll see you next time I sleep," Sam said.

"We'll be waiting," Prima said as his mind descended into darkness.


	6. Our Team

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the new chapter six! Enjoy!
> 
> Original comments: Well here's the next chapter. I hope you guys like. You meet a whole lot of characters in this chapter. For most, if not all, of them I'm going off their G1 personalities as best I can. If you guys have any suggestions, I'm open. Please Read and Review.

Sam didn't wake up as he normally did. Instead of slowly coming to awareness, trying to fight wakefulness. Instead, he was just suddenly awake. Stretching as he sat up, he couldn't help but marvel at how good he felt. He wasn't tired even though he had been conscious, or at least some version of conscious, the entire time he'd been sleeping. The boy looked down at the soft metal that rumpled around his waist like a blanket. He ran his hands over the metal, finding that it was smooth and very light, pleasing to the touch.

The former human noticed something off to the side of the makeshift blanket and reached over to grab it. Holding it up, he found that it looked like it was to be a pair of shorts made of the same material that the blanket was. The door slid open, and he lowered the shorts to see Perceptor sidling toward him.

"Are you feeling all right, Silverstreak?" the red mech asked cautiously.

Sam nodded, smiling gently. "Yeah. I'm better than all right, actually."

"Well, I'm glad." Perceptor said, looking relieved. "I do apologize for earlier. I didn't realize that you didn't know about the metal."

"Hey, it's okay. I'm over it now," Sam reassured him.

Perceptor smiled and gestured to the shorts in Sam's hands. "Do you like it? I was wondering how to make some covering for you, as you appear to need some, and that idea just came to me. I don't know what your species usually wears. I didn't think armor would suffice. I can make something else if you'd like."

"No, I love them. They're perfect. Thank you."

Joy glittered in the Autobot's optics as Sam shyly stood up and slipped the piece of clothing on. They fit perfectly. The metal felt weird on his skin, but he had to admit that he did love them. Honestly, it was nice to be wearing clothes again. The boy was hesitant as he sent a mental thanks to the Primes for giving Perceptor the idea. He'd ask later if they'd heard him. The youngling was so intent on sending the thought that he jumped when Perceptor gently prodded him.

"I-I'm sorry," Perceptor stuttered. "But your optics..."

"What about them?" Sam asked, tilting his head.

"I don't want to upset you again," the mech admitted.

"Perceptor, I promise you that I won't be upset," Sam said soothingly. "Just tell me."

"Well…when you were staring off into space, they were glowing blue."

"Really?" Sam blinked in surprise. "Hm, I guess that's something they didn't know about," he murmured.

"They?" Perceptor queried.

"What? Oh, nothing." The boy found that he didn't really want to tell the red mech about the Primes yet. He wasn't sure he could trust him.

The Autobot smiled and was about to say something when a strange tone filled the air. Sam found himself frozen as he listened to the odd notes, a melody of an alien song.

Perceptor brightened. "Oh, it sounds like Blaster decided to play after all."

"Blaster?" Sam asked.

"Yes. He's our Communications' Officer. Oh! Now that you're awake, I should probably introduce you to the others. I promised them I would." Perceptor paused. "Do you mind if I carry you? It would be so much faster."

Sam snickered. "Sure, why not? It'll be a lot faster."

Perceptor scooped Sam up, lifting the boy up to his shoulder, where he curled his hand around a metal plate to steady himself. After making sure the youngling was situated, the Autobot walked out the door, heading toward the source of the haunting music.

The Earthling couldn't help but look around the hallway curiously. Everything looked different from this height. He listened to the melancholy sounds that echoed down the smooth orange and silver hallway and found himself swaying in time with the music, for it was definitely music. Perceptor made an amused noise, and Sam turned to see the mech smiling at him.

"You do not know Cybertronian songs, yet you are drawn to Blaster's tune. Blaster truly is a master of sound."

"Yeah, it sounds beautiful," Sam replied.

Perceptor just nodded and continued down the hall. They reached the end of the hallway, and the Autobot opened the last door on the left. Sam immediately noticed the tall red mech standing next to a strangely shaped metal device. The mech's fingers were skimming over what looked like strings, and the youngling realized that he was the one filling the air with the eerie harmony. The red Cybertronian, who Sam presumed was Blaster, looked up as the door slid shut behind them, and his optics brightened as he stopped playing.

"Is this him then?" Blaster asked, taking a step forward with his optics trained on the little creature.

Perceptor smiled. "Yes. Everyone, I would like to introduce you to Silverstreak. Well, his true designation is...Sam? but he has given us permission to call him Silverstreak."

Several other mechs rose up to see him better, hurrying forward to meet him. Sam found himself the center of attention and, as with the Primes, felt uncomfortable as he knew none of these mechs. _But at least I have shorts on._

"So, that's the thing that ya stumbled onto, Hot Rod?" a gruff voice asked.

A yellow, orange, and pink mech jumped up in the back of the room, expression slightly alarmed, and Sam noticed the mech that had captured him. Judging by the mech's posture, he was extremely nervous. The Earthling suddenly realized that the room was extremely quiet, and he turned to see what they were looking at. A dark green mech with his arms crossed stared at the nervous mech.

"I asked you a question, youngling!" the mech barked.

"Y-yes sir," Hot Rod stammered. "T-that is the organic that I found out in the Omega Sector of the city."

"What'd you say its designation was Perceptor?" the mech asked as he focused on the visored red mech.

"Silverstreak. Er, Silverstreak, this is Kup, our commanding officer," Perceptor said, sounding as agitated as the pink and orange mech.

Sam gazed up at Kup, and he immediately discerned the intimidating air around him. He made all the other mechs anxious and uncomfortable. Perceptor's eager, easygoing nature had vanished and was replaced by a shy and insecure mech. Kup brought to the youngling's mind to Ironhide, what with his gruff attitude. Sam realized that the army green mech was waiting for an answer from him. He wasn't really sure what Kup expected him to say, so he said the first thing that came into his head.

"What's up?"

Every mech started and stared at him, shock plain on their faces at such a casual greeting. Kup looked especially surprised.

"What's up? Is that how you greet your people?" Kup finally asked in an offended tone.

Sam shrugged self-consciously. "Well, what do you expect me to say? I don't know how to act around you yet! Do I have to give you an extra special greeting o something?"

Kup's face twisted in anger and he looked ready to shoot the organic male. He stared at the boy for about a minute before shoving past Perceptor. As he walked out the door, he called over his shoulder.

"If you expect to keep that _thing_ , then you better teach it some manners!"

The door slid shut and nobody moved for a few moments before Hot Rod burst out laughing. Within seconds, every mech in the room was howling. Sam smiled, relaxing a little. It was always funny to push Ironhide's buttons, and pushing Kup's, though that hadn't been _completely_ intentional, it had been a little fun. When the Cybertronian youngling managed to stop laughing he strode forward, a sparkle of joy alight in his optics. He stopped in front of Perceptor, leveling his gaze on Sam.

"You know, Silverstreak, I'm really sorry I shot at you."

Sam sniggered. "Hey, I'm just glad you were an Autobot. I was afraid the 'Cons might have gotten to me."

Hot Rod grinned. "You know, nobody's ever said anything like that to Kup before! The look on his face! I thought he was going to explode!"

There was a fresh round of chuckles, and Perceptor walked over to a table to set Sam down.

"Now, I do believe introductions are in order," the mech said, glancing around.

"Ah, yeah. I'm Blaster, communications officer," Blaster said with a nod.

"I'm Hot Rod. I'm...well, I'm just a soldier," Hot Rod looked a little downcast, but Blaster patted his shoulder and he gave a tiny smile.

"I'm Cliffjumper, weapons' specialist," a mech said. Sam turned and his eyes widened as he saw a nearly exact clone of Bumblebee. Instead of the bright yellow he was used to seeing on that body shape, the paint job was a crimson red. The optics that on Bumblebee had held affection and joy, on Cliffjumper held a cool anger, a look that Sam was used to seeing on Ironhide.

"I'm First Aid, the medical officer." That came from a thin, short, red and white mech. He had kind optics with a shy undertone in them. His smile was soft and reminded him of the way Ratchet would sometimes smile when his patients cooperated.

"You already know my designation," Perceptor said cheerfully. "My function is scientist for the crew."

"I'm Wheeljack," a white and green mech said eagerly. "I'm the inventor for the crew. I help modify weapons and other things."

"Yeah, Wheeljack," Cliffjumper said, his voice full of sarcasm, "You always do such a good job. I mean, how else would we become so immune to explosions?"

Wheeljack's smile faded and his shoulders slumped. Perceptor growled and walked over, putting a comforting hand on the mech's shoulder.

"Why do you always have to pick on him?" the scientist snapped.

"He's the worst inventor I've ever seen! We're lucky if a day goes by where he doesn't blow something up! It's a miracle that the Decepticons haven't found us yet!" Cliffjumper snarled in exasperation.

"Hey, at least he's trying," Sam growled, his eyes flaring bright blue; he could actually feel the change in his eyes, but he didn't care at the moment.

"What do you know about it? You're just a measly little organic that Hot Rod found. You don't even know what goes on around here!" Cliffjumper was glaring at him.

"Yeah, well I know a bully when I see one!" Sam retaliated. A whisper of warning went through the Earthling's head, but he ignored it. "I want to know what you feel so insecure about. Did someone bully you, or are you compensating for something you never got?"

Cliffjumper's cry of rage drowned out the shocked gasps. The weapons' specialist charged up his gun and leaped at Sam, murder in his face.


	7. Compensation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy, it's been fun to see what my mind came up with all those years ago! I've made a few changes here and there, improved the reason and backstory a bit. Please enjoy!
> 
> Original comments: Well, peoples, here's the next chapter. It's got a flashback in it. Oh, and I forgot to mention in the last chapter that the 'compensation' thing at the end doesn't mean what you think it does. It explains in the flashback exactly what's wrong with saying that. As always please read and review, and I'm open to suggestions.

Cliffjumper's cry of rage drowned out the shocked gasps. The weapons' specialist charged up his gun and leaped at Sam, murder in his face.

Sam saw a flash of light, and he jumped off the table, landing with a grunt on the floor. He heard the gun charging again, so he dove for cover. An explosion of metal behind him forced him forward as he slid behind a group of what looked like chairs, very large chairs, but chairs nonetheless. There was the sound of a scuffle then a loud _crash!_

"Where are you, you little insect?" Cliffjumper roared.

"Cliffjumper, please! He must not know what it means!" Perceptor said frantically.

"Get off me, Perceptor! I'm going to kill him!"

There was another _crash,_ and the scientist gave a cry of pain. Sam heard the door slide open then Kup's voice made every sound in the room stop.

"What is going on in here?" There was a pause. "Well? Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

Sam peeked around the corner of the chairs to see Cliffjumper shove past Kup and storm off, throwing a glare over his shoulder. The other mechs still looked surprised and uncomfortable. Perceptor turned to where Sam had taken cover.

"You didn't have to say that!"

Kup turned toward the silent boy. "So, it was you that started this, eh?"

Sam surprised everybody by stepping out and nodding without hesitation. "Yep."

"What did you say to him?" Kup demanded.

"He didn't know what he was saying!" Perceptor interjected before Sam could reply.

"Yeah, I did, actually."

The mechs all looked at him, disbelief on their faces. Hot Rod shook his head.

"No, you couldn't have."

Sam shrugged. "Believe me or don't. Doesn't change what I said."

Wheeljack spoke, and his voice was quiet. "How could you say that? How could you say that when you know what it means?"

Sam didn't answer, instead staring past them all as his eyes slowly faded back to their normal brown. He did indeed know the full impact of what he'd said to Cliffjumper, and he was prepared for the reactions of the mechs. Perceptor wouldn't look at Sam as he walked over to the boy and picked him up. No one, not even Kup, stopped the scientist as he walked out the door.

Perceptor walked through the halls silently until they reached another door. The door slid open, and Sam found himself looking out over the Cybertronian landscape. The red Autobot stepped forward and the door slid shut behind him. After standing in silence for a while, the mech finally looked down at Sam, sorrow in his optics.

"Silverstreak, do you really know what that means?"

"Yeah, I do," Sam said quietly.

"Why did you have to say it?" Perceptor asked, his voice begging for an answer that made sense.

"I couldn't stand to see Cliffjumper picking on Wheeljack. I was...bullied myself when I was younger. It wasn't fun then, and I can guarantee you it's not fun now."

"But Silverstreak, it's—" the Autobot began.

"No, Perceptor. I'm not going to get lectured for this."

"But—"

"No!" Sam snarled angrily, leaping down out of Perceptor's hands. "I'm not having this discussion with you!"

"Silverstreak, wait!" Perceptor pleaded, but Sam had already started off down a path that wound down the incline.

The boy walked until he came to a metal forest that looked a little like the one in his dream. He sat down, settling back against one of the 'trees' as his thoughts whirled around what he'd said and done. It made him think of the first, and only other time, he'd said those words to a Cybertronian.

It was a sunny day back on Diego Garcia, after the battle with the Fallen and his minions. There was a two week break in his college schedule, for which he was glad. He just needed a rest from all the work. He was staring out over the ocean, looking at nothing really, but feeling as if he were searching for…something. He never did figure out what, though, because Ironhide came up behind him, and they started talking about the battles. Sam had said it when they were talking about weaponry.

"So, 'Hide, do you just have so many weapons because you're compensating for something or what?" the human had asked teasingly.

The black mech went strangely quiet, an odd look on his face, before he got up and walked away without saying another word. Sam stared after him in confusion. He'd thought things were going great, and Ironhide's sudden departure bothered him. A few minutes later Optimus came over to him and sat down in the spot his weapons' specialist had vacated.

"Sam," the Autobot leader said solemnly after a brief silence. "Ironhide told me what you said."

"What did I say?" Sam asked, looking up at the mech.

Optimus stared down at him with those bright blue optics that seemed to see through him to his heart. The boy shivered under the scrutinizing gaze, but Optimus finally nodded.

"You really don't know what you said," he surmised.

Sam shook his head and looked up at Optimus, worried and a bit puzzled. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Yes. You said something very wrong," Optimus replied, his gaze steady. "You mentioned something on compensation."

"Yeah, but that was just a joke. I didn't mean anything by it! Wait…" Sam's eyes widened at a thought. "Do you guys have…?" His face heated at the mere thought of his Autobot friends having _those_ organs…

"No, Sam." Optimus's optics glittered in amusement at the human's embarrassment. It mystified all the Autobots how the humans were so embarrassed about their own bodies and sex when they were so open about their own physical forms.

Sam ducked his head, his face burning. Even after all the time spent with the Autobots, he still wasn't used to their blatant references to sex and all things associated with it. Optimus smiled fondly as he gently picked the human boy up to hold him at optic level.

"What you said was, as you might have guessed, offensive. But, as I said, it's not as you have guessed. It's not sexual in any nature."

"Well then what's so wrong with it?" Sam asked in exasperation.

"Well," Optimus said slowly. "It didn't come into our culture until after the war began. There is an upgrade younglings get that helps their systems…How do I put this in your tongue? It increases the ability to reason and solve problems. I guess it increases the processor's strength. Intelligence, as it were."

"After the war started, our people ran in short supply of the upgrades. That's when the 'compensations' insults began. Mechs that didn't receive it couldn't process information as fast as the mechs who did. Our processors are amazing things, and they would eventually learn to, but they were still teased about not having the upgrade. Mechs who didn't attain it would compensate through other means, and, though Ironhide was a youngling long before the war and has obtained it, he has gotten accused of not receiving it just because he's a little…overenthusiastic with weapons."

Sam stared at Optimus's wrist in the ringing silence, taking in the explanation. He looked up after a few moments. "So I owe Ironhide an apology."

Optimus nodded as he stood. Sam had tried to ignore the nervous flutter in his stomach. He had made a mistake and he had to apologize for it. And it hadn't been easy to apologize to the black mech. In fact, he could still see the hurt in his optics now, raw and ugly, a weakness in the strongest person he knew. Ironhide had smiled, the hurt disappearing as he realized the boy hadn't meant it in the way he though the did, and he told Sam that it was okay, that he wasn't mad. Sam hadn't dared to say that to any other Cybertronian ever again. Until Cliffjumper.

The boy sighed heavily. He really didn't want to apologize to the red mech, but he had no choice in the matter, really What he had said was unacceptable, and he had to make it right. There was a murmur in his head again, this one of approval over his choice, and Sam mused that he would definitely have to get used to having voices in his head. He wondered where to find Cliffjumper, and in the corner of his eye he noticed a shimmer. It looked like the gleam of stars on a night background.

The youngling turned to the glittering lights, following the strange wave of iridescence that was Stellar Prime leading him to the mech he'd wounded with his words.


	8. Apology

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must not have been such a grammar nerd back then. I'm catching a lot of little things, but nothing major so far. :)
> 
> Original comments: Heh. Another chapter. *giggles* I hopes that yous guys is eager for it. If not, oh well. I must say this is quite fun to write. Suggestions are welcome for what to put in future chapters. If I don't get suggestions, I'm going to start doing time-skips again. Heh, I'll have to do that eventually, come to think about it. I can't write out two whole years of changes. That'd be a lot of chapters...Anywho, I'm eager to get to the more fun part of the story, at least in my opinion so...Yeah, please Read and Review, (and leave suggestions if you have any!)
> 
> Oh and to Sipi3, I thank you for that suggestion, even if you didn't realize you gave it. I never thought of writing about what the Earthbound Autobots thought of Sam being 'dead.' I'm starting the next chapter with it.

Sam had been following Stellar Prime for about half an hour before he found Cliffjumper. The Prime completely disappeared, and Sam took a deep, steadying breath, reminding himself that he wasn't alone before he slowly approached the mech.

"Hey," he said quietly.

Cliffjumper started and looked over at him, the hurt in his optics turning to anger. The mech growled, a low noise of gear grating against gear, and hissed, a sound Sam had come to associate with distaste.

"What the Pit are you doing here? Go away before I kill you!" Cliffjumper snarled, charging up his weapon as if to make good on the threat.

The boy lowered his gaze, unable to meet Cliffjumper's accusing optics. "Look, I-I just wanted to say that I'm sorry."

Cliffjumper paused, staring at the strange little creature. Out of all the things he had expected the organic fleshy to say, that was not one of them. The Autobot retracted his gun before reaching out to pick him up. Sam gave a little yelp of surprise as Cliffjumper held him up to his face, optics analyzing him.

"You're…sorry?" Cliffjumper asked, his voice holding disbelief.

"Yeah. I knew it was a bad thing to say, but I lost my temper. I couldn't stand to see you picking on Wheeljack. I was bullied when I was a kid…er, sparkling, and it's a sensitive subject for me. It's not fun to be bullied, and I don't like it when others are made fun of, especially in front of me. I know that doesn't excuse what I said, and again, I have to say that I'm sorry."

Silence descended over them, and Sam avoided the red mech's gaze. He felt so nervous about this. He just wasn't very good with apologies, never really had been, and those optics were boring into him, testing to see if he was telling the truth. Cliffjumper finally shifted his grip on the boy. Instead of grasping the boy around the middle, he was holding him in his hands. It was much less aggressive and much more comfortable, and the smaller being found that he liked it much better.

"Out of all the mechs that have ever said that to me, you're the only one to ever apologize," Cliffjumper murmured in wonder.

Sam chanced a glance up at the mech and found that the mech's optics were contemplative. The Autobot scrutinized the boy for a few minutes before smiling.

"You know something? You're not so bad. You're different for sure, but not in a bad way."

"So…you're not mad anymore?" Sam asked hesitantly.

"No. The apology helped," Cliffjumper said with a snort.

Sam sighed at the reassurance, relaxing in the large hands. He was out of trouble and he'd made things right with Cliffjumper.

The boy laughed softly, relief evident in his tone. "Well that's good. I would really rather not have you as an enemy. You'd be as bad an enemy as…someone else I know."

Sam caught himself before he said 'Ironhide.' He didn't really think it was a good idea to mention the Autobots from Earth. He wasn't sure why, but he felt as if he really shouldn't tell. It was the exact feeling he got when he was talking to Perceptor and mumbled about the Primes. This new reluctance made him feel strange, so Sam quickly changed the subject.

"So, how long have you been weapons' specialist for this team?"

Cliffjumper's optics brightened, and he smiled as he replied. "Oh, several thousand orns. It's an absolutely marvelous job."

Sam smiled at the mech's sudden eagerness. "Really? Neat. What made you want to become a weapons' specialist?"

Cliffjumper got more excited the more he talked as he exclaimed in joy. "Oh! There's this absolutely wonderful weapons' specialist that I've read about. He's the one who inspired me. His designation is Ironhide. Oh how I wish I could meet him, if he's even still functioning. You see, he went out with the Autobot leader, Optimus Prime, and his team to go find the Allspark, the source of life for our kind. They haven't been heard from in a while."

The mech paused. "Well, we might possibly have gotten a message or two from them. We got a couple messages that had been scrambled because of the radiation in space. What very little we could save of the messages sounded like Optimus Prime's voice, but we're not sure. Even if it is, there's no coordinates for where they might be. Hey, are you alright?"

Sam was gaping at him. _That_ was why so few Autobots responded to the signal! Ratchet had a few theories, but nothing like this. And the way Cliffjumper said Ironhide's name, and Optimus's for that matter, made them both sound worshipped. The red Autobot was still staring, waiting for an answer.

"Yeah…Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking, is all."

Cliffjumper frowned slightly. "You know, you have a very odd way of articulating your speech patterns. It sounds so…bizarre. Like you don't even care about how you sound."

"Hm? You mean _casual_?" Sam queried, his mind still on the Autobots back on Earth.

" _C-casual?_ Is that a word in your own tongue? Perceptor said it was strange. I'd have to agree with him. The way you form your words, and the sound of the words themselves. It just seems…"

Cliffjumper trailed off uncertainly. He didn't really know what to think of this boy. First he was insulted by him, then the boy apologized, and now…Well, he wasn't sure anymore. This organic, whatever his species was, was very confusing. The weapons' specialist was mercifully saved from finishing his thought when his comm. link went off.

_Cliffjumper, where the Pit are you? We've searched the entire base!_ Kup's grating voice said unhappily.

The younger mech sighed. _I'm outside. I just needed some time to think._

The red Autobot was prepared for his commander to start yelling about safety, as he usually did, but he was very pleasantly surprised when Kup grumbled.

_Well while you're out there, try to find that stupid organic. The slagging thing ran away and Perceptor can't find it._

_First of all, Kup_ Cliffjumper growled. _His name is Silverstreak, and_ he's _a mech. Second of all, he's not so bad when you get to know him.'_

The superior officer snarled, _I don't want to know about that thing. I take it from your reaction that it's with you._

_Yes,_ he _is, as a matter of fact._

_Then come inside!_ Kup snapped with finality.

Cliffjumper sighed and closed the comm. link. Kup was always like that, cold and demanding and uncaring about other mechs' feelings. Every bot on Kup's team had learned to not really show anything but compliance around their commander. Sam watched a tired look pass over Cliffjumper's face. The boy had noticed that Kup was a very temperamental mech, but to take all the personality out of his soldiers? The youngling felt his eyes start to gleam with blue as it became very clear that he needed to find a way to mellow the older mech out. Just how he was going to do that was another problem entirely.


	9. Old Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a nice little break from Cybertron, and I must thank Sipi3 for suggesting it. I don't know if she still reads this, but if she does, I hope she knows I appreciate her helping me with my most popular story!
> 
> Original comments: Well here it is. I must again thank Sipi3 for the idea to have a glimpse of the Earth bound Autobots. To you especially, I hope you enjoy.

The sun shone down on the crystal blue waters situated around Diego Garcia, but the yellow Cybertronian stared out across the gleaming liquid, blind to its beauty. It had been three long weeks since the battle, since they had lost Sam. From that moment on, Bumblebee hadn't wanted to do anything. He was miserable down to the core of his spark, and nothing anybody said, be they human or Autobot, snapped him out of it. There had been many attempts, even a serious one by the twins, but nothing worked. He just wanted his charge back. A noise from behind him reached his audios, and Ironhide hesitantly walked up beside him. The black mech looked him over, his optics sad.

"Bee, please," Ironhide said gruffly. "You need to snap out of this. We've all taken this hard, and I know how close you were with Sam, but you need to let him go. He's gone, and he's not coming back."

Bumblebee turned to stare dejectedly at the weapons' specialist. The mech slipped an arm around the scout and started giving clicks and whistles of comfort. Bumblebee tiredly pressed into his shoulder, miserable whines slipping from his broken vocalizer. Ironhide comforted his despondent friend until the noises had stopped. Ironhide tilted Bumblebee's face up to look into the sad blue optics.

"Hey, it's going to be alright. Now, cheer up! None of us can stand seeing our cheerful Bumblebee so downcast." When Bumblebee gave a small smile, Ironhide added, "Now let's get inside so the humans don't see us like this."

The yellow mech couldn't help letting out a soft, static-laced laugh. Ironhide was so nervous about seeming weak, especially in front of the humans! The dark mech growled in his audio receptor and Bumblebee trilled in joy and pulled away from him.

"Now do you feel better?" Ironhide grumbled, his optics slightly pink with embarrassment.

Bumblebee still had a smile on his face, albeit a small one, and his optics reflected his brief humor. It was the first time he'd laughed since the battle, and it felt nice to have his misery lifted away, if only for a moment. The yellow mech gazed thoughtfully at his dark companion, giving a burst of static. Ironhide glanced up at him, smiling at the happy look and sighing in relief. He was glad that somebody had finally snapped the yellow mech out of it, and if he was honest with himself, he was a little bit proud that it had been him.

"You know," Ironhide said, his discomfort completely forgotten. "Ratchet's been working on something to fix your vocalizer."

Bumblebee's optics lit up with interest and he gave an inquiring burst of static.

"From what he told me yesterday, it's almost done. Maybe this one will actually work."

Bumblebee grinned eagerly. He wanted to be able to speak again. It would be great to communicate with his actual voice and not just the radio.

Ironhide patted his shoulder. "We need you inside with the humans. They are really upset. Especially Will and Robert."

The scout sighed and nodded, his smile fading. The others had read everything just as he had on humans, but they still didn't really spend enough time with the organics to really use the knowledge on how to react to their emotions. It wasn't the happiness or anger that gave them so much trouble. It was the sadness. The Cybertronians weren't really sure what to do with them. What they didn't seem to understand was that a human's needs were closer to their own kind's than they thought.

Ironhide was about to say something else when there were footsteps behind them, and the two mechs turned to see who it was.

"How are you two doing this fine day?" Optimus Prime asked as he came up to stand next to them. Bumblebee noticed vaguely that Optimus was speaking Cybertronian; he could understand both languages but speak neither, so what did he care which one was used?

Ironhide shrugged and slipped into their native tongue effortlessly. "I am well. I have been trying to console Bumblebee."

"Ah," Optimus replied, wrapping an arm around Bumblebee's shoulders as Ironhide had earlier. "How are you, young one? I know you took Sam's death hard."

Bumblebee gave a small, tired smile and leaned against his leader, making a soft purring noise in his throat to indicate contentment. The Prime smiled and nuzzled the younger mech with a satisfied series of beeps. The yellow mech had to admit that he'd missed the affection that used to happen between their team. When Jazz had offlined, the close-knit feeling had disappeared. The First Lieutenant had kept them together, with sounds and touches that defined close friendships on Cybertron. Without him, they had slowly but surely grown apart. It was nice to feel close to Optimus and Ironhide again. If only Ratchet were here...

"Hello, my friends," Ratchet said in Cybertronian as he walked up to them.

Bumblebee let out his customary, static-laced laugh, causing the others to look at him bemusedly. He shook his head at the inquiring looks and pulled away from Optimus to embrace Ratchet. The medic was very surprised, but he happily returned the affectionate gesture.

"What brought this on, Bumblebee?" the medic asked with a smile.

The yellow mech shrugged and pressed closer. The others smiled; a clingy, affectionate Bumblebee was much better than a depressed, unresponsive Bumblebee. At least it was for now.

"Hey, Bee," Ironhide said after a long pause. "I'm sure that wherever Sam is right now, his spirit is happy."

The reassurance caused the yellow scout to smile, and he pulled back to show his friends. The black mech smiled back and punched the yellow mech's arm in a friendly way. Bumblebee got a challenging glint in his optics, pushing himself away from Ratchet to slide into a defensive position. Optimus watched Ironhide and Bumblebee spar playfully, a smile toying at his mouth, but it was barely there. It was nice to see his mechs coming together, as he had feared that they would never be close again. Fate had other ideas, it would seem. The death of Sam might have made all of the Autobots despair in one way or another, but in the aftermath of the tragedy, closer friendships would form to help with the healing process that all of them needed to go through. But still, was it worth it to have lost such a dear friend? The Prime wasn't sure, but he couldn't change it, as sad as it was. Part of him, a large part, wished he had.


	10. First Aid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a great chapter focusing on First Aid, who hasn't really made much of an appearance yet, and how Sam starts to get to know him. Oh, how amusing medics are! XD
> 
> Original comments: All right I give up! Here's a nice, long chapter for those of you who have been mentioning the shortness of the chapters, and those of you who didn't like it and didn't say anything. Also, I feel a little guilty about the two month time skip. But I couldn't do the ending events for this chapter until Sam was more developed mechanically. I couldn't think of anything else to put in the two month time span so I skipped it all. You know, I've got to spread his stay out to two years on Cybertron.
> 
> To all of you loyal fans, I have a request for you. Tell me how YOU want the Autobots on Earth to find out about Sam and how they would react. I might use some of your ideas. Remember that they think he's been dead for two years. Oh and don't worry about Sam's appearance description. PM me or just leave me a review. My reviewing is open to anonymous reviews. I really want to hear your ideas.

Sam sighed as he stood nervously outside First Aid's med-bay. He really didn't want to be there, but the advice of the Primes had led him there. Well, that and the slightly scared feeling that the rapidly spreading metal on his back had caused. He wouldn't have even noticed it had Hot Rod and Cliffjumper, who were becoming good friends now that Sam was pushing them there, not commented on it. He had just laughed it off, but when he had gone to sleep that night, the Primes had decided to show him that he needed a medic.

The boy was now standing in front of this particular door because, during his usual 'dream', Sentinel had told him to take off his shorts. He had complied, rather shyly, and he noticed, with much dismay, that the metal had spread to an area that made him blush. The Primes told him that he should go to see First Aid and start getting check-ups, "because it will get worse, and you will want him to know you by then."

For the past two months, Sam had been getting closer to the crew. All of them were warm and friendly toward him, except for two of them. Kup was still cold, distant, and commanding as ever, and First Aid was so shy that he rarely talked. The youngling had always hated going to the doctor on Earth, and it appeared Cybertronian doctors were no exception. Though Ratchet had sworn that he could change Sam's mind, the Earthbound Autobot medic had never got the chance. But would it really be easier to face Ratchet instead of this shy mech?

Sam nearly jumped out of his changing skin when, with no warning, the door he was standing in front of opened, and First Aid nearly stepped on him.

"Hey!" he barked, leaping out of the way. The Autobot looked down in surprise.

"Oh! Hello, Silverstreak. What are you doing here?" he queried.

"I, er, was wondering if you could, you know…take a look at me?" Sam asked hesitantly.

First Aid smiled, a professional air beginning to override his shyness. "I'd be delighted," he said simply as he picked the nervous boy up and carried him into the medbay.

Setting the organic down on the berth, First Aid turned and pressed a couple of buttons on the keypad that controlled the medbay doors, and the screen of the little computer turned from blue to yellow. The medic turned to him and smiled invitingly.

"If you could just remove your…um, what do you call that thing your wearing?" He gestured at Sam's clothing.

"Just call them shorts," Sam replied, snickering softly.

"All right then, please remove your shorts."

Sam hesitated at the request. He was a bit self-conscious about his body. He could easily compare it to his early teen years, only much worse, because he'd never had _metal_ growing out of his skin as human teenager. First Aid, who had turned to a table to organize his tools—a nervous habit that reminded the boy a lot of Ratchet—looked back over his shoulder at Sam.

"Is something the matter?" he asked.

"No. Well, yes. I mean, i-it's just…" Sam trailed off, biting his lip, his face hot.

First Aid nodded understandingly. "You're a bit shy about your body."

The boy dipped his head as he stared at his feet. The white and red mech churred soothingly, kneeling down to look at him face to face.

"I've had several patients like that. I would tell you that I've seen everything about a body that can be seen, but I've never seen anything like you before. I'm just going to have to ask that you trust me. I know that it's hard. I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm rather shy myself, so I know what it's like." First Aid paused. "Are the people from your planet like ours?"

Sam glanced up, his discomfort lessening at the casual way they were talking. "What do you mean?"

The mech looked extremely curious. "I mean, is the majority of your species open with the way their bodies function, or are they shy and hide everything away? Our race accepts our bodies' functions and is not ashamed to take our armor off in front of others of our own species."

"Oh, mine is the exact opposite," Sam said with a snort; he'd been reminded that fact often by Optimus and Ratchet.

"Hm, that must make it even harder for you. Though could you tell me why?"

"The people of my world judge each other based on physical appearance. They can be…harsh," Sam said bitterly.

"You speak as if you've been on the receiving end."

"I have. I'm not exactly what you'd call attractive. I'm more on the other end of the spectrum." Sam averted his gaze from the bright optics in front of him.

"Oh. I'm sorry about that, Silverstreak. I promise that I won't judge you. It's not in my personality to be judgmental on that level."

Sam smiled. First Aid showed himself to be even more like Ratchet than he thought. The green medic had always told him almost exactly that, but he'd never believed him—he was too restricted by human society to even consider it—but he'd been away from Earth for nearly three months, and it was most definitely showing in his behavior as he quietly stripped off his pants and tossed them aside.

First Aid made a strange trilling noise in his throat as he eagerly looked over the alien body. Sam felt his cheeks warm a little, but he made no comment. He actually started to enjoy watching the mech's face as he discovered new things about him to look at. When the mech's focus narrowed between his legs, Sam moved to cover himself automatically, jeers filling his head as he remembered high school. First Aid gave a click, signifying his surprise, and looked up into Sam's eyes, which were currently brown.

"What's wrong?" he asked with a disappointed look. The boy mumbled something with his face blazing. First Aid churred again. "Oh, Silverstreak, I already told you that I won't judge you. Now please let me look! I've never seen something like you before!"

The eager tone in the mech's voice made Sam's hands drop back to his sides and First Aid gave another sharp trill as he gently pressed the boy to lie down on the berth. The youngling couldn't help but hum at the soft metal that cushioned him as he did as the medic prompted. Even after a month of being able to sleep on it, the soft metal used on the berths still felt amazing to him. In fact, any kind of soft metal still fascinated him. He'd actually developed the habit of rubbing his shorts with his palm just to feel the smooth, malleable metal beneath his hand.

First Aid snapped him out of his thoughts with a poke to the side. "Turn over."

Sam complied without question, turning over to lie on his stomach. He shivered when First Aid ran his finger from the top of his spine down over his bottom. The medic hummed in interest, tracing it again.

"It's spreading," First Aid said with awe. "I've never seen anything like this in all my life. Is all your species like this?"

The boy kept his head down as he replied, "No. None of my species is like this."

"Oh. Do you know why you're so different?" First Aid asked, softening his voice.

When he got no reply from Sam, First Aid made a series of soft beeps then went back to looking over him. He was absolutely mesmerized with the way the boy's body was designed. There were no spaces to show wires, or whatever the boy was made up of. Just a smooth surface. It was an absolutely ingenious design, leaving few noticeable weak spots, quite unlike a Cybertronian's armor, which was spread around to bare wires that were vulnerable to attack. Besides that, the similarities between their bodies were amazing. As he looked the boy over, First Aid started to talk, informing Sam that he was now much more comfortable with him than he was even ten minutes ago.

"You know, you're arrival has considerably changed things around here. I've never seen the crew closer. Even Blaster and Hot Rod mostly kept to themselves, and they were the most social mechs before they were transferred to this team. Kup wears all of us down eventually." First Aid sounded sad at the last.

"Why? Why does he do that?" Sam demanded.

"None of us are really sure. We just wish he'd be a little more lenient with us, and our feelings, sometimes. It hurts that he doesn't really acknowledge that we need to be upset sometimes. I know this sounds cruel, but it's like he's completely unfeeling."

"Nobody can be unfeeling. They have to feel something. Some people think that they feel too much and hide it away. Maybe that's what Kup does," the boy suggested.

First Aid paused in his observations. "You know, you are awfully wise for such a young mech."

Sam laughed. "I've lived through a lot more than most people my age."

"I can tell. Such wisdom usually comes from the elders," First Aid said thoughtfully. "Now, stay still. I'm going to get some tools over here so I can take a look at your internals."

At first, they talked about what inspired First Aid to become a medic as the mech worked. Sam learned that Ratchet was as much revered as Optimus Prime and Ironhide were. First Aid talked about him like he was the Allspark itself. After that they talked about the members of the crew, and, though some of the things the medic used scared him, Sam trusted that they wouldn't hurt him. Talking while he was working helped a lot. The entire process took around an hour and by the time First Aid was done, Sam had learned about how every member of the crew had been transferred to the team.

Every single one of them had been transferred because of some sort bad behavior. Truthfully, Sam felt sorry them. No mech in their right mind would willingly go to Kup's team. He was a harsh commander, and before Optimus left Cybertron, the poor mech would get swamps of transfer requests from the green mech's team. Being put under Kup's command became a punishment, and the mechs there on the base were still being punished for things that happened ages ago.

Blaster had been playing music during monitor duty and had missed some Decepticons sneaking in the base. Several casualties ensued. Cliffjumper had gotten a little trigger-happy on the shooting range and had hurt some of his comrades. First Aid had mistakenly performed the wrong operation on an injury and had nearly killed the mech; he'd felt so guilty that had transferred himself. Hot Rod had somehow screwed up an entire battle plan, and the Decepticons had taken a large section of the city because of the youngling's mistake. Perceptor had given some important information about his research to a Decepticon spy. Wheeljack had performed a _slight_ miscalculation on an experiment and had blown the base he was working in to pieces.

First Aid sounded quite bitter when he told Sam that they were each terribly sorry for what they had done to get on the team. The only thing that had kept them working together was the stern leader himself. None of the team belonged together, except perhaps Perceptor and Wheeljack, because they all had such different upbringings and personalities. They were forced together for a punishment that was only supposed to have lasted just a few years, human time. Instead it had lasted for thousands. Kup might have kept them together, but he was tearing them down at the same time, making them feel so terribly guilty about it, telling them almost nonstop how it was their fault that things had happened the way they had. They were all, understandingly, very tired of it.

"Why don't you just leave?" Sam asked as First Aid finished both the story and the check-up.

"None of us, except probably Cliffjumper, could last long out there without this team. Even if you missed them all, there are still Decepticons out there."

"Oh. Well, why not talk to him?" Sam tried, but he knew it was crazy by the look First Aid gave him. "Fine then, not that. But you have to try something! You can't just let him oppress you like this!"

"Sam, the only thing that would humble that mech is a beating. That's supposedly the only way you can gain his respect, and none of us have the skill or the will to do that."

"No! There has to be some other way!" Sam said as he slipped his shorts on. He felt his eyes flare blue, an increasingly frequent occurrence whenever he got upset. "We just have to find it."

His eyes grew a shade of a slightly lighter blue, closer to the bright blue of an Autobot's optics, as feelings from the Primes rushed into him. Aqueous' cool, calm, collected personality mixed with Prima's determined nature flared into his body as the beings in question appeared beside him. The others were scattered around the medbay, their bodies translucent but still there. Sam knew that First Aid couldn't see them, but it was comforting to know that they were there anyway. He was getting better at seeing and talking to them outside his dreams.

"Well," First Aid said, dragging him out of his thoughts and back into the conversation. "If you find that way, please let me know."

"Will do," Sam said with a crooked smile.

"I've got nothing else to do, so do you want to come to the rec room with me?" First Aid asked after a pause.

"Sure. Why not?"

Sam leaped into the proffered hand and easily kept his balance as he was lifted up to First Aid's shoulder. It was now an everyday thing to be picked up and placed on somebody's shoulder, and Sam was so used to it that he didn't even think about it anymore. He curled his fingers around the red and white armor on the mech's shoulder, holding on lightly as the mech started to walk. The trip to the rec room took hardly any time at all, and Sam was happy to see that everybody in there was getting along rather well.

It really wasn't just Hot Rod and Cliffjumper that were becoming fast friends. Everybody was getting along better. Smooth notes of Cybertron's now familiar music floated through the room as Blaster's fingers danced across the strings of the metal instrument that he played. Sam felt a rush of joy from the Primes; they loved hearing the red mech's songs. There was a low chuckle from the table beside them, and Sam turned to see Hot Rod.

"You always smile like that when you hear Blaster playing. It actually looks like you're drunk with joy."

Sam smiled at the comment. Hot Rod would probably be surprised beyond measure if he knew how accurate that statement was. A flood of the same emotion from all the Primes was indeed like being drunk. It disoriented him and made him act as though the emotions were his own. The other mechs in the room greeted them and they were dragged into the conversation. Wheeljack and Perceptor were arguing about how to improve the efficiency of an energon convertor and Hot Rod, Cliffjumper, and, occasionally, Blaster had been adding to one side or another. Now that First Aid and Sam were there, they found that it was actually amusing to listen to the mechs argue.

"But it's just been fixed," Wheeljack debated. "I don't want to have to work on it again! It blew sparks fifteen times before I finally got it right!"

"But the advantages to the faster conversion rate and the increased output of the energon from fewer materials would be so much greater than the disadvantages of the work we put into increasing it!" Perceptor said, exasperated.

"Perceptor, you're not the one working on it!"

"But that's irrelevant! It would mean more energon for all of us!"

"I just don't see how it would work out. I mean the plans look exactly the same as the last ones!"

"Actually, they are different. You just have to follow the plans exactly how he wrote them. If you do it right, you'd have a thirty percent decrease in friction, which would allow more of the force put into it to do the work. You know, if you would take five percent of that thirty and reroute it through the filter in a vertical direction, the energon would be purer and taste better. The advantages to the increased purity would be more nutritious energon, and you'd have to consume less often in order to be properly sustained."

The room rang with silence as every single mech stared at Sam. The boy's face heated up, and he looked away from the bright blue optics staring at him. He hadn't actually meant to speak his mind. He'd just seen the advantages and listed them for Wheeljack. The latter part had just slipped out. There was a flurry of movement and Perceptor was suddenly checking math and doing quick calculations all over the datapad. He looked up and a bright smile was on his face.

"How did you figure that in your head?" he asked excitedly.

"I-I don't know. I-I didn't mean to say anything," Sam said meekly.

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't have thought of that for years, if ever! And your calculations are absolutely perfect!" Perceptor smiled wider and picked him up off the table. "I should have had you in the lab all this time!"

Sam felt his face warm again, though this time it wasn't from embarrassment. Perceptor rarely let any mech into his lab, and he knew it. The sound of a door opening made Perceptor lift his optics, and he gave a joyful cry.

"Kup! Silverstreak helped solve our energy problem!"

Kup looked at Sam and snorted. "Well, good for him."

Perceptor's smile fell a little, "Aren't you happy? We've been trying to find a way to solve it for a while."

Kup shrugged and stood there, his optics glaring at Sam the entire time. Sam didn't really mind; once you had Optimus Prime staring at you like he can see every bad thing you've ever done, Ironhide's angry glare, or Ratchet's upset medic gaze on you, nothing could really faze you anymore. First Aid shifted then stood up nervously.

"Can't you just be happy for once?" he asked with determination in his optics.

"What do you mean?" Kup snapped, his glare switching to the shy medic.

"You're never happy with what any of us do. You always just have to have more. Why can't you be more like Optimus Prime and praise good work?"

"I've known Prime longer than you've been functioning _youngling_! So don't you go comparing me to him when you know nothing about him. What makes you think that you can just start contradicting your commanding officer, anyway? That's the reason you nearly killed that mech. I don't see why you think—"

"That's enough!" Sam barked. Everyone turned to look at the now light blue-eyed boy.

"I beg your pardon?" Kup asked, stalking forward to snatch up the boy.

"Don't you fragging touch me!" Sam snarled kicking the hand away. "Ever since I got here you've been nothing but a cold-sparked glitch! Tell me what happened in your past that made you so slagging bitter? Did someone hurt you? Beat your aft? Call you names? What in the Pit could have made you hide yourself away like this?!"

"Why you little—" Kup started, his optics ablaze in anger.

"Yeah, I'm little, but I'm not an idiot! I know that mechs act a certain way for a certain reason. What's your reason? Tell me, was it that nobody cared about how you felt? Hm?"

"Shut up, youngling!" Kup snapped, something off about his optics.

"No! _You_ shut up! I'm tired of you beating everyone here down just so that you can feel better about yourself. You're not a commander! You're nothing but a big bully who hides behind his title of Commander!"

Kup gave a cry of outrage and lashed out. Sam dodged and heard sparks crackling as he spun around to face the angry mech. Yelps arose out of all the other mechs, and Kup's optics reflected surprise, but Sam ignored them and acted out of instinct and outrage. He jerked his arm forward and blue electricity jolted out of his body, slamming into Kup's chest and creating a rope of pure electricity. The mech gave a yell of pain, and Sam moved his arm up.

The green mech was lifted off the ground and the boy gave an inhuman snarl as a burst of anger manifested itself as energy and ripped out of his body hard enough to jerk him off his feet. The ball of energy slammed itself into Kup and threw the mech across the room. He crashed into the wall before hitting the floor and going limp. The energy rope that had connected the two creatures snapped and whiplashed back into the boy. Sam hissed as the electricity wrap around his arm before disappearing.

Suddenly, he felt weak and tired, blinking as he stared at the unmoving commander. A realization made him gasp as he stared at his hands, a sob escaping his throat. _He'd_ done that. He'd _hurt_ him! Not one mech moved as they all took in what happened. Sam looked up directly into the optics of Telluric, who had appeared to calm him, and his bottom lip trembled. The boy crumpled and started to cry at the overwhelming flood of horror, guilt, shock, and other emotions that rushed through him.

As he was picked up and cradled against Hot Rod's chest, Sam wished that he hadn't found out his defensive mechanism, or at least that it had been less violent. The Primes informed him that it could have been worse.

"After all," Prima said helpfully, "Kup's still alive."

Sam cried harder.


	11. Wounds of the Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is another chapter. This one didn't have as much editing to do as some of the others. Enjoy!
> 
> Original comments: Okay here's another chapter for my loyal peoples. And to clarify, 'whining' for a Cybertronian is crying. Instead of tears uncontrollably coming out of their eyes, whines come out of their vocalizers. And to all the people out there who noticed, I was spelling 'Sentinel' wrong. I have gone through and changed it. *laughs* Please read and review.

Sam was curled against Perceptor's chest as they sat silently in the rec room. Tears still occasionally burned in the boy's oddly blue eyes, and he would make a long, sad whistle, earning him a comforting croon from the red mech, who stroked him tenderly. The Earthling could tell that Perceptor was very curious about the moisture coming out of his eyes, but the mech stayed quiet, sensing that it was not the proper time. For that, Sam was grateful. He felt completely horrible for what he'd done to Kup, and being a science experiment would not make him feel any better.

The green mech was still in stasis, and it had been nearly two days. Sam was waiting anxiously for First Aid to tell them that he was all right, but, so far, there was no news. That lack of news was what had kept everyone awake. Not one of them had slept, or recharged as Sam had learned it was called, since the accident. The silence was finally broken by footsteps, and everybody looked up. The only two mechs not in the rec room were Kup and First Aid, and it was the medic who came into view and walked over to Sam, staring down at him.

"Silverstreak," he said quietly, seriously. "I was wondering if you'd tell me exactly what it is that you did to him."

Sam shifted and looked up at him. "I hit him with electricity."

"I know that, but what I meant was, how did you do that?"

The boy shrugged. "I'm not sure," he lied, avoiding First Aid's optics.

"Silverstreak," First Aid said with a sigh. "We all know you feel bad about what happened, but that's no reason to lie."

"I-I..." Sam stopped when another sad whine burst from his throat. First Aid started and immediately crooned comfortingly.

"It's all right, little one," Blaster said gently as he moved up behind Perceptor. "None of us really can control that sort of thing when we first get it."

First Aid looked at the red and black mech in surprise. "Do you think that's what it is?"

"Well, it's the only thing that makes sense, Aid," Blaster replied with a shrug. "Even if he is a different species."

"Silverstreak?" First Aid asked slowly. "Is it your special ability?"

Sam stayed still for a moment before nodding. "I think so."

"How is that possible? You are not of this world, yet you take on the characteristics of this world and its people! It's like you're…" First Aid's optics brightened. "Does your species adapt to fit their surroundings?"

"No," Sam reluctantly admitted. "At least, not the way you're thinking."

"Then how is it possible?!" First Aid exclaimed, annoyance glittering in his optics.

"It just is!" Sam exclaimed.

"Tell me!"

"Look, I do know how I can do that, but I really don't want to explain it, okay?"

"But Silverstreak—"

"My species doesn't adapt to other planets, but I've got the unique ability to do just that! Okay? Is that a good enough answer for you?"

Sam felt sparks crackle between his fingers as he glared up at First Aid. The medic held up his hands and made a soft, weak series of beeps. Something inside of him told him that he had won and to back down, but he ignored it and let the sparks grow a bit hotter. Metallon was suddenly beside him. The mech's optics were gentle yet stern as he stared at the boy.

"Calm down, Sam. Don't fight your instincts on this."

Sam was so startled by the abrupt appearance that he stopped before registering the words that the Prime had spoken. Usually the Primes were careful about how they appeared when others were in the room, as they sometimes made the boy jump, and that wasn't good as it raised awkward questions. The former human suddenly felt embarrassed about his temper. He didn't want to hurt any of the other Autobots like he had hurt Kup ever again. He mumbled an apology and curled up on Perceptor's chest again. Blaster gave a soft croon and reached down to scoop him up.

"No mech can control it in the early stages," Blaster said gently. "You'll be able to control it with practice. We can use the shooting range later, if you'd like. It's made for this kind of thing."

Sam smiled shyly as he looked at the mech. "That sounds good."

First Aid sighed and started for the door. "You all should recharge. I'll wake you up when he gets up."

Even as the words left the medic's mouth, everyone in the room knew that none of them were going to recharge. As mean, and sometimes downright cruel, as their commander was, they were all worried about him. Settling back into the places they'd been for hours, they stilled and the room went silent again. It was another two hours before First Aid came back in with a smile on his face.

"He's awake," he announced. Then he looked over to Sam. "And he wishes to speak with you alone."

The relieved smile that had appeared on the boy's face vanished, and a nervous swallow preceded First Aid strolling over and picking him up. He clung onto the medic's shoulder as they walked to the med-bay in silence. When they two beings walked in, Kup pushed up slightly with his arms, earning a disapproving glance from the medic. The green mech growled softly but grimaced as he lay back down. First Aid nodded approvingly, setting Sam down on the berth.

"Kup, I don't want you to try to sit up. You're still in pain and it might make the injuries worse," the Autobot medic said sternly before he turned and left the room.

Sam shifted uncomfortably as Kup's gaze moved from the closed door to him. The mech brought his hand up and moved Sam closer to his head. The boy looked down at his feet, but he could feel Kup's optics on him the entire time. After another hard swallow, he spoke, his voice soft and a little frightened.

"I-I'm sorry Kup. I don't know how to work this yet."

"I know," Kup said. His voice sounded rougher than usual. "First Aid explained to me what happened." There was a heavy pause. "You were right."

Sam's eyes darted up to meet Kup's. "What?"

"You were right, youngling. About me. Somebody did hurt me." Kup's optics were dull with more than physical pain. "He was my best friend. We shared everything. Then something happened to make him defect. He…he and I faced off in battle, and all of the Decepticons there started to mock me. That wasn't unusual, the 'Cons did that every battle. Hell, they do that even now. It was the things they were saying. They were deeply personal things that I had told my friend in confidence. He'd told them everything, every embarrassing thing I'd done and said in my life. All the secrets I'd told him weren't so secret anymore.

"That day I was run off the battlefield, and I couldn't stop whining. It was humiliating. I left my team, even though they begged me to stay, and went back to the Officers Training to try for Commander. I got it then took down the team of 'Cons that had hurt me so. I killed my former best friend with my own hands. I can still remember ripping his spark out of his chest." Kup paused for a moment and offlined his optics. "I could never face any of the mechs that were out on that battlefield the day my friend betrayed me. Optimus Prime is one of those mechs. The things the 'Cons revealed about me…"

Kup's hands leaped up to his face as a long, high-pitched whine escaped from his vocalizer. His optics turned pink in embarrassment. Sam started at the sound, and immediately a strange crooning sound came from his chest and he rubbed the wires nearest to him. Kup seemed to have trouble regaining control as sad whines continued to come from him for several minutes. When the mech finally shuddered, laying still and quiet, Sam stopped crooning, but he continued to stroke the wires soothingly until Kup relaxed and put his hands down on the berth again.

"You won't tell any of the others, will you?" he asked after a moment.

"No," Sam replied quietly. "You will." Aero's words slipped past his lips before he could stop them.

Kup's optics widened and he gasped. "What? Why would I do that?"

Sam allowed Aero to continue talking through him to Kup. "Because you know all of their stories. What they've done. It's time they know why _you're_ on this team."

Kup was silent for a long moment then sighed. "You're right. Again."

"I am?" Sam asked a little dazed. It was strange to channel the Primes directly.

"Yeah. You are. Do you mind if tell them after some recharge?"

"No. I need some recharge, too," Sam said tiredly. "I haven't slept since I hurt you. I was too worried. All of us were worried."

Kup chuckled softly, "I thought you'd all be celebrating." He paused. "It's nice that they care after all I've said and done to them."

"They're an understanding bunch. They have to be. They're one hell of a mismatched team," Sam said with a smile as he tenderly pressed against where he'd hit Kup's chest. When Kup grimaced, Sam looked guilty. "Sorry."

"That's alright, youngling. Just a little sore, that's all. We should probably get some rest. No stay here," Kup said when Sam turned to jump off the berth.

"Really? You don't mind?"

Kup shook his head. "Just lay down, kid."

Sam smiled and snuggled up against Kup's chest, carefully avoiding the area he'd hit. The soft metal beneath him molded to his body and he sighed as he closed his eyes. Kup smiled fondly and curled his hand protectively around the boy. They both easily descended into recharge, tired for different reasons, but tired nonetheless. As Sam appeared in the metal field that he usually did, he wondered what Kup dreamed about.

"Hello, Sam," Beta said fondly as she picked him up.

"Hey, Beta. Aero, I really don't like you talking through me. It feels weird."

Aero laughed. "I'm sorry, Sam," he said dreamily.

Sam rolled his eyes. Aero Prime's personality matched his name so perfectly. He was airy and would go off on random topics, just whatever came to mind. All the Primes matched their names in one way or another. Pyro had a fiery temper that was usually calmed by Aqueous's cool, collected nature. Telluric was, as the humans say, a 'down to Earth' mech. He was one of the most sensible Primes. Nova had explosive bursts of emotions at random times. Once you got to know him, you could just about predict when he was going to burst, but sometimes…

Stellar had his head up in the stars, always trying to guess what was going on out in space. He was one of the scientists of the Primes. Metallon was like the metal on Cybertron, there were many different kinds of him. He could be sweet or mean, happy or upset. His emotions weren't as explosive as Nova's, but they were more unpredictable. Prima was just as his name said, first in command. He was the first Prime that had been created, and he had a calculating nature. Beta's function amongst the Primes matched her name as well; she was second in command. She was kind and eager to listen to all the troubles that anyone had. Being the only female of the Primes didn't seem to bother her, but she was very used to her brothers and had probably gotten used to it long, long ago.

Sentinel was the guardian of the group, very defensive of everyone. He was the one that tried to keep his emotions hidden, but when you got to know him, you knew exactly what he was feeling. He was the one that taught Sam about hiding emotions until the right time. Vector was the other scientist of the crew. He was as 'down to Earth' as Telluric and as calculating as Prima, but he wasn't indifferent to the others. The mech had a warm personality when he wasn't working on something, and it was he and Metallon who'd taught Sam how to do advance calculations in his head and to improve technology. Sometimes their lessons still made his head spin.

Finally, but by no means the least of them, there was Rodimus. He was the wildest of the bunch, always full of energy and ready to play around. He would jump the others and instate a wrestling match, causing a big ruckus amongst the others as they cheered for one or the other. Sam had a lot of fun with him. With great delight, Rodimus measured the Earthling's speed, and proudly announced that the boy was slowly getting faster as the days progressed.

"So, Sam, you finally got through Kup's outer wall," Metallon said with an arched optic ridge.

"Yeah. I kinda feel bad for him. Having to kill your ex-best friend. I know I couldn't kill Miles, even though he probably hates me."

"Oh, Sam! Don't think about that!" Beta exclaimed, her optics flashing.

"Sorry," he replied with a guilty smile; she hated talking about death.

"So, now we know what you can do to defend yourself," Vector said as he eagerly looked at the boy.

Sam laughed. "Yes, yes, you can look at me!"

No sooner than the words were out of his mouth, he was up in Vector's hands. The Prime ran several tests on the boy with Stellar hovering right behind him. When the tests were complete, Sam was set back down. He sighed and ran his hand over the soft metal that acted as a bandage on his forearm, wincing at the burns he knew were wrapped around his arm like a snake. Vector and Stellar were talking excitedly. Together, they turned to look at Sam.

"When you get more control over this you'll be able to condense the electricity into a shield," Vector said.

"A…shield?" Sam asked, a little confused.

"Yes," Stellar replied. "Soon you'll be able to protect yourself and others as well as defend them."

Sam smiled thoughtfully. "Well, that's good, I guess. Hey, we've got a while. I can practice a bit while I'm here, and I don't have to worry about hurting anyone."

"Well, then what are you waiting for?" Pyro asked immediately, a familiar, challenging glint in his optics. "Come, attack me!"

"Pyro, calm down!" Nova said with an exasperated sigh.

"Well he wants to fight, so I don't have to!" Pyro said spinning to face Nova.

"Why are you yelling at me?!" Nova whimpered.

"Oh, Pyro! Don't upset Nova," Aqueous said irritably.

"Come here, Nova. It's alright," Beta crooned, slipping her arm around his shoulders.

Rodimus snorted as Sam watched in amusement. "C'mon Sam. Let's teach you how to get those sparks to the surface without anger."

Sam chuckled as he went with Rodimus, eager to learn how to control his new ability. He spent the entire time just learning how to summon them from his body without emotion being the cause of it. He'd just gotten it down when his real body was jerked violently. The start made him slip out of the dream and into his own body, which was now sitting up and looking around to find the thing that had startled him. Kup was doing the same thing beside him. First Aid looked at them guiltily.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. I was just making sure you were alright."

"We're fine," Kup said as he eased himself back to lie down.

"You should recharge," Sam said with a sigh as he snuggled back into Kup's warm side.

"I have. Everybody else is still down. I had to check on you. If you're all right, then I'll go get some more recharge."

Kup glanced at Sam as First Aid turned to leave. "First Aid."

The red and white mech turned to look at them, "Yes, sir?"

"Thanks."

First Aid's tired expression melted into one of shock as he took in Kup's words. Kup snickered at the expression and offlined his optics. First Aid turned his gaze on Sam.

"How did you do it?" he asked with a brightening smile.

"He just needed someone to crack him open," Sam replied as he closed his eyes and drifted back into recharge.

First Aid's smile stayed in place as he left the medbay, heading back to his own quarters. There was a feeling deep in his spark that things were going to go a lot differently from then on. And it was all thanks to Silverstreak.


	12. Included

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I cut this chapter in two because it seemed like the thing to do.
> 
> Original comments: Another chapter for the lovely peoples! *giggles* Tell me what yous guys think. Oh, and to clarify something. After the time skip, Sam's been there on Cybertron for six months. Imma gonna have to use more time skips, and make them longer, and for that I must apologize, but it's the way the story must go.
> 
> I must thank my new beta reader SkyHighFan. He is so cool in his awesomeness. Again, you are thanked!
> 
> And to CaMaRoFaN14, the answer is both.
> 
> To Ox King, which secret do you mean? Please clarify.
> 
> Finally to Sipi3, don't overthink this! It will all be set in place in time, dearie!

The room was quiet save for Kup's rough, low voice. The rest of the team stood around his berth in the medbay, listening to the green mech's tale. Kup's optics were staring at one spot on the floor that he found fascinating, and he was speaking much softer, and with much more emotion, than any of them were used to hearing. When the story was finished, the room descended into silence as Kup desperately tried not to physically show his sorrow. After a few minutes of the uncomfortable silence, Blaster spoke, his voice gentle.

"Mech, why didn't you tell us before?"

Kup shook his head, taking a deep, calming intake of air to cool his overheating vocalizer before he spoke. "It's not something I like to brag about, lad. It's not even something I like to think about."

The room stilled again. Hot Rod finally said, rather thoughtfully, "Well, at least we know why you don't really like Optimus."

Kup smiled bitterly. "Yeah."

The silence wrapped back around the room, tight as a vice. None of them really knew what to say. They had never thought to hear anything so personal from their normally reserved commander, and it was a bit disconcerting.

Sam snorted softly, causing every head in the room to turn to him. "Why are you all so surprised? You knew something bad must have happened to him."

"Yeah, mech, but we didn't expect anything like this," Blaster replied, his optics dim.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you," Kup muttered.

"Kup, he didn't mean it like that," Sam soothed. He knew that Kup was on edge from being so open, and he wanted to help all he could.

"Yeah, it's just, well, we expected something a bit more…I don't know. Violent?" Perceptor said softly, following Sam's lead.

"Violent," Kup repeated before looking at his clenched fists. "No, violence would have been better than what happened." He sounded so defeated.

Wheeljack spoke up from the back of the group, "Hey, we've all made mistakes. I mean, I blew up an entire Autobot base. You trusted the wrong mech. It's happened to all of us at one point or another."

"Almost all of us," First Aid corrected.

"What do you mean by that? That you're…Oh," Cliffjumper said as the medic gestured with his optics.

Sam frowned. "What do you mean, Aid?"

"You haven't done anything as bad as we have, Silverstreak," Hot Rod clarified. "And be grateful that you haven't."

Sam stared at the mechs for a second before laughing, a severe sound that grated on the listening audios. Before he could stop it, sparks snapped between his fingers, and his eyes changed from brown to light blue, glowing brightly with emotion. Surprise flickered in the faces around him.

"Silverstreak, what's wrong?" Perceptor asked, quite alarmed.

"You think I haven't done anything bad? I _started_ a fragging _war_ on my planet!" Sam stopped shouting, his voice turning into a hoarse whisper. "Not only that, I ignored some of my best friends' and allies' pleas for help, and one of them was hurt really bad. He nearly _died_ because of me." The boy paused for a moment. "The worst thing is, he _forgave_ me. He forgave me without a second thought, and I almost killed him."

Sam covered his face as he let out a soft whimper. There was a hush that fell over all of the team at the admission. After a whole minute of nothing, time seemed to unfreeze, and Kup picked Sam up in his hands, carefully drawing his thumb over the organic/metal hybrid that was the boy's back.

"You started a war?" he asked, disbelief coating his tone.

"Yeah. I did."

"How?" Perceptor queried.

"I had something in my possession that everybody wanted. It seemed insignificant to me, but both sides needed it to find something important. The war's still going on, as far as I know."

"What were they trying to find?" Hot Rod asked curiously.

Sam shook his head and said nothing, still reluctant to tell them about the Autobots and Decepticons back on Earth. He just knew that things would change if he mentioned it, and he didn't want things to change. Despite the prickles of pain that constantly assailed him, he liked everything as it was. Yes, things were a bit tense at the moment, but he was still content beyond anything he'd ever felt before in his short life.

A minute passed, then the Autobots accepted that they wouldn't be getting an answer from Sam because, instead of asking again, they changed the subject.

"So, Silverstreak what do you say to a bit of practice with those sparks of yours?" Cliffjumper asked eagerly.

Sam nodded, grinning in his enthusiasm and causing laughter to ripple out of the mechs around him. Honestly, he didn't mind in the least. Without thinking, he leaped up onto Blaster's shoulder, and the red mech started in surprise. Sam glanced around. Why was he getting curious stares?

"How did you do that?" Perceptor asked in wonder.

"Do what?" Sam enquired.

"You just jumped up to his shoulder," First Aid replied, measuring with his optics. "That's higher than you are tall."

Sam looked down to the berth and gauged the height to be around seven feet. A thrill went through him as he realized that he was developing faster than the Primes had predicted. He couldn't help the smile that broke over his face. Suddenly more eager to see how far he could go with this new ability he'd gained, he grew impatient to get started. But, as Blaster and Cliffjumper wished Kup speed in recovery before taking him down to the shooting range to practice, Sam noticed that everything felt lighter, as if barriers had been torn down. Because of that, everyone had become closer, and Sam reveled in the fact that he was actually included in that closeness.


	13. Practice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has no original comments, as it was cut from the last chapter.
> 
> This is a time skip that puts Sam at about six months from arrival to Cybertron.

Sam moved fast, deftly twisting away from the shot fired at him as he lashed out with a controlled dose of electricity, effectively stunning Cliffjumper. Blaster chuckled as he knelt down beside the dazed mech for the sixth time in a row to help him drink a bit of energon. When Cliffjumper struggled to his feet, Sam dropped back into position, but the red mech shook his head.

"I can't take another beating today. Why don't you work at the shield? You're still having trouble with it."

Sam snickered at Cliffjumper's reaction before nodding. Even with three months of practice, he was still injuring mechs with his shield. Making the shield required him to compress electricity very tightly and hold it there. To put it lightly, the electricity did not like being compressed, so it retaliated by shooting away in all directions. It was best if he practiced the shield alone, so he patiently, albeit a bit nervously, waited until Cliffjumper and Blaster were out of the room and behind the thick Cybertronian glass that was, thankfully, extremely hard to break. Taking a deep breath, he allowed the electricity to arc out of his hands and zap around him.

The youngling started to compress the sparks and bolts as he continued to pull more electricity out of wherever it came from inside of him. He kept it up until he was completely surrounded by a sparking blue surface. The strain of keeping the shield in place had already begun to build, but he held it tight. Stellar Prime had told him that it would eventually only strain him to keep it up after a long while. Eventually was proving to be a long time in coming, so, in the meantime, he was to continue practicing to get to that point. The boy started to shake after a minute, then, all of a sudden, the strain became too much. He cried out as electricity burst throughout the room. A single rope of it whiplashed into his chest, scorching him immediately. When the sparking sounds completely died away, the door to the room slid open, and Cliffjumper was instantly beside him.

"You were burned, weren't you?" he asked as he picked up Sam's trembling body.

The boy nodded, shivering as he pushed himself to sit up in the large hands. Cliffjumper let out a sympathetic croon when he saw the nasty welt that the electricity had left on the hybrid's chest. Sam pushed his hair, which was now only a few inches from his shoulders, away from his face and groaned as the movement caused pain from his fresh burn. First Aid wasn't going to be happy about treating another of his self-sustained burns, even if the medic knew that he would continue to get hurt until he learned to control his abilities better. He was still a medic, concerned of safety, and he knew just how badly Sam could get hurt from his own powers.

The door to the room opened again, this time revealing Blaster and First Aid, who hurried through the door and giving a disapproving hiss when he saw Sam's chest.

"Frag it! You just can't go a week without a fresh burn, can you?" he demanded as he knelt down to send gentle pulses through the boy's body, assessing the damage and beginning the healing process.

"I'm sorry, Aid," Sam replied guiltily.

"Well," the red and white mech said more gently. "At least the burns are getting smaller every time. I can definitely see your progress from when you first started."

"Really?" Sam asked hopefully.

"Really," First Aid said with a nod and a gentle smile.

The Earthling sat completely still in Cliffjumper's hands as the medic wrapped the burn with soft metal coated in medicine to help both the organic half of him, as well as the metallic. Sam had to admit that he was getting just a bit too familiar with being in the medbay, what with being there at least twice a week. To be fair, once was just for the usual check-up on how his change was progression, but the other was from one or more, usually more, burns from practicing his shield. At least he wasn't sending his sparring partners to the medbay anymore, which was a step up in his mind.

When First Aid was done, Sam stretched, flinching instinctively as a sharp pain shot through him, but when that started to disappear immediately, he smiled to himself. He absolutely loved the fact that Cybertronian medicine could numb pain so thoroughly. Coupled with the fact that his body was healing faster every day, it made the burns bearable. Actually, his entire body was moving faster. He'd never even imagined that he would ever be able to move as fast as he was, and he was getting faster with every day that went by. Along with that, he was getting stronger, too. The medic pulled him out of his thoughts.

"So, it's the usual orders. No more practice today or tomorrow. And if you do what you did last time, I swear I will tie you down to a berth and not let you go until you're properly healed. Is that clear enough for you, Silverstreak?"

Sam blushed as he nodded, "Yes, sir."

The 'last time' that First Aid was referring to had been six days before. He'd practiced another shield after First Aid told him not to. After hurting himself so badly that he'd fallen unconscious, he had appeared in his dream landscape extremely confused. The Primes had downright refused to tell him what had happened, rather irritated at his lack of respect for the medic's wishes, and when he'd woken up, he had been lying in the medbay facing a very upset First Aid, where he found out that he'd given himself seven new burns plus made the ones that he'd received the first time a whole lot worse.

"Silverstreak, a medic gives an order for a reason! Look what happens when you don't follow them!" First Aid had lectured.

Sam was so embarrassed, and honestly rather ashamed of himself, that he continuously apologized, even after the medic had forgiven him, until First Aid threatened to weld his mouth shut if he didn't stop.

"Good," First Aid said, breaking him out of his thoughts. "But just to make sure…Blaster, you watch him. Make sure he doesn't practice. In fact, you three should go to the rec room to avoid any temptation."

Just as First Aid finished his mini-lecture, there was an explosion that shook the base. All four of them groaned even as they stood up and hurried down to Wheeljack's lab. The door slid open before they reached it. The rest of the crew joined them as smoke billowed out in thick, black clouds, and Wheeljack stumbled out, coughing to clear his intake system. His entire frame was dark from the acrid smoke, and he looked unstable on his feet. Perceptor slipped an arm underneath the inventor's and wrapped it snugly around him.

"Fragging converter!" Wheeljack croaked before going into another coughing fit.

"Again?" Perceptor asked in exasperation.

"Y-yeah. I think there was a short in a couple wires. I plugged them in, tried to start it, and it blew up in my face."

"Again," Kup said with a snort.

The others laughed for a brief moment at the friendly jab. Ever since Kup had revealed his story, he had been more social and started to really get to know his subordinates. The green mech had stopped criticizing them for their previous mistakes, praising their good work. Hot Rod had admitted to Sam a couple of weeks before that Kup wasn't so bad now. He was actually becoming quite fun to be around, going so far as to teach Blaster a few songs that had been popular when he was a sparkling. The communications' officer had already began to put his own personal spin on them, and his commander told him how much he enjoyed the variation.

"Oh, Wheeljack, let's get you cleaned up and down to the medbay," First Aid said with a heavy sigh. "And Silverstreak, remember my orders this time."

Another burst of laughter rang out before Kup snatched Sam off of Cliffjumper's shoulder to place the boy on his own. As the group headed down to the rec room, there was a lull in the conversation, during which Sam rested his head on Kup's cheek, suddenly feeling drained and tired. The green mech glanced over at him.

"When's the last time you took in energon, youngling?"

_"Hm? Oh, a couple days ago,"_ Sam said tiredly.

"What?" Kup paused and looked at him confused.

"Aha! There! Didn't I tell you that his natural tongue is strange? Didn't I?" Perceptor said triumphantly.

"You're going to have to speak in Cybertronian, lad. We don't speak your language," Kup said gently.

"Sorry," Sam said, making sure it was Cybertronian. "I do that when I'm tired. I said, a couple days ago."

"That's probably why you're so tired. You need some energon."

Sam could do nothing but nod. Perceptor launched into an explanation to his commanding officer about how a small amount energon could sustain the hybrid creature, and the mech seemed impressed. Sam knew that he needed less energon than a Cybertronian his size would need. It was just another thing to thank the Primes for. By the time they got into the rec room to get the energon that Sam needed, the boy was half asleep. Kup prodded him awake, and Sam, irritated that he wasn't allowed to recharge, let loose a volley of words in English when he finally sat up. He blinked up at the mech then looked sheepish, thankful that none of the mechs in the room could speak his language, as he had just cursed the commander out rather violently.

"Well, I don't really need you to translate those words. I can guess their meaning," Kup said with a chuckle.

"Sorry," Sam grumbled.

"It's alright, lad. Now drink up. Then you can go recharge."

Sam yawned as he nodded, leaping up to sit down on the edge of the cube. He balanced easily on the corner, snickering when he remembered the first time he'd tried it and fallen in. Every mech in the room had laughed at him, but he'd laughed at himself, so it hadn't bothered him. His stomach reminded him just how empty it was, so he pulled himself out of the memory and leaned down to scoop up a handful of the softly glowing liquid, placing his hands to his lips and swallowing it down eagerly. The sweet, electric taste of the energon bubbled on his tongue, and he swilled the liquid around his mouth to get the full flavor.

Back on Earth, he had never understood when he'd watched the Autobots drink the stuff just why they loved it so much. He thought it was strange and a bit sad that they could only eat one thing. Oh, how he was wrong. Every single batch tasted just a bit different, and it could have more than one form. The liquid could be encased in a sweet-tasting shell, making what they called an energon treat, which was very much like candy from his home planet. There were also countless different kinds of metal that they could grind up and sprinkle in the energon to give it a different taste. Or they could dribble the energon on a piece of metal and eat it that way. Yet another way to add more flavor was to super heat the metal and let the melting material drip into the drink. As he took another drink of energon, he consciously tasted the sharp, spicy tang of the rough metal that Kup preferred, and he swilled it again.

Everybody was watching him as he dipped his hands back into the energon, and he could feel it, but they had been staring at him since he had gotten there, so he was used to it. He knew that they couldn't help it. They found him absolutely fascinating as they had never seen anything like him before. A thought occurred to him for the first time as he took another mouthful of the liquid. Back on Earth the Autobots had been the aliens, but here he was the alien. The thought was interesting, he decided, and not as off-putting as it probably should have been.

After the fifth handful, he started to get a bit light-headed, so he decided to stop. He really didn't want to get drunk, or overenergized as they called it. He'd found out that it was completely possible after watching Cliffjumper nearly blast a hole through the door to the rec room when it wouldn't open for him. He had been put in the brig for a while for that one, and Kup had sternly warned him off of overindulging on energon.

Sam did an easy backflip onto the table and sat cross-legged as he watched the others eat. His belly was full, and he was just energized enough to have the pleasant buzz. He listened to the quiet conversations in the room, letting his mind wander as it wanted. He felt so relaxed that he didn't even react when Kup chuckled.

"He's almost offline on his feet," he said.

"Yeah, the poor creature is quite tired. I think we should all turn in early tonight," Perceptor said.

All of them gave whistles and clicks of agreement, finishing off their energon quickly. Kup curled his fingers gently around the hybrid's body to pick him up. The mechs moved off to their assigned quarters, wishing the others a good recharge as the group slowly dwindled. Kup entered his own quarters and laid Sam gently on the berth. The boy hazily thought about just how good life was before relaxing completely into the soft metal and slipping into recharge.


	14. Remembrance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was cut into three pieces.
> 
> Original comments: Hello again with another chapter. I hope you peoples enjoy this. It did take a bit to write it, but that's just because school's started again. If you guys have any suggestions for what you want to see more of in the story, just tell me in a review. If I can fit it in, I'll put it in the story, just like I did with SnowDusk's suggestion. Well, it was more of a statement, but...yeah. So enjoys, and please review. I love getting reviews. It encourages me to write more of the story. ;)
> 
> SnowDusk. The part with the Earthbound Autobots are for you. *laughs* I should zoom in on them every once in a while.
> 
> I must again thank my beta, SkyHighFan. He is awesome.

Optimus Prime smiled as he looked over the forest below him, Ironhide at his side. The black mech glanced behind them at Bumblebee, who was sitting on the ground with Ratchet kneeling beside him. The medic's skilled, nimble fingers were carefully connecting wires in the yellow neck. Occasionally, sparks would snap, causing the yellow mech to let out a hiss of static in discomfort. Ratchet finally pulled his hands out of the delicate wiring before pushing gently on the freshly installed device until it popped into the correct place with a snap.

"There you are, Bumblebee," Ratchet said in Cybertronian. "That should do it. Now, let's see if this one works for you. Say something."

Bumblebee was unsure about it, as the last one had exploded, but he gave it a try.

"H-h-hello," he managed then trilled in happiness. He could speak! He'd never been able to speak with one of Ratchet's vocalizers before!

"It works!" Ratchet crowed. "It really works!"

"Say something else! " Ironhide demanded, trying to hide just how thrilled he was that his yellow friend could talk again. "How are you feeling?"

Bumblebee looked down at the ground as he replied. "S-s-sad."

"Sad?" Optimus asked gently as he walked over to crouch down beside him. "Why?"

"E-eight m-months t-to the day."

"Eight months?" Optimus looked confused as he raced along his memory banks to try to remember… "Sam!" he exclaimed suddenly. "Eight months since Sam…was taken from us."

"Y-yes," Bumblebee said quietly, his voice smoothing out as he got used to the new vocalizer. "I miss him, Optimus. He'd be so happy that I can speak again."

"We all miss him Bumblebee. Don't you doubt that for a moment," Optimus said softly, ending the statement with a croon of comfort.

"I-I know. It's just…he was my charge, and I failed him."

"You didn't fail him Bumblebee. Even if he's gone, you avenged his death," Ironhide smirked. "I've never seen any mech rip another to pieces so thoroughly. Not even a Decepticon."

Bumblebee smiled bitterly. "I'm still surprised I did that, but I don't regret it. I would do anything for Sam."

"We know, Bumblebee. We didn't doubt that even when he was still alive," Ratchet said with a warm smile.

"Say," Ironhide said after a pause. "What do you say we do something in his memory. You know, have a drink?"

The black mech's suggestion was met with laughter from the others. When Optimus finally managed to stop, he sighed.

"Old friend, you'll use any excuse to get drunk, won't you?"

"Yes," Ironhide replied with a smirk.

"Well at least he's honest," Ratchet chuckled.

"What do you say, Bumblebee?" Ironhide asked.

"I'd like that," Bumblebee said after some consideration. "That we acknowledge him like that."

"Well then," Optimus said, his optics glittering happily. "Let's get drunk for our friend!"

Laughter ensued when Ironhide leapt up, volunteering to get the energon cubes for them. As Bumblebee watched Ironhide hurry towards the energon storage area, he couldn't help but smile. Perhaps this would become a tradition among them. He sure hoped so. Then nobody would forget the brave little human boy. The yellow mech offlined his optics and could swear he heard Sam's laughter rippling through the air.


	15. Growing Pains

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter had no original comments, as it was taken from what is now chapter 14, along with the next chapter.

Sam couldn't stop laughing as he looked down at Cliffjumper from the shelf he was perched upon. The poor mech was tangled in a mess of wires and metal, courtesy of Wheeljack. Said inventor was desperately trying to untangle the red mech, which was made infinitely more difficult by the fact that Cliffjumper was jerking around and cursing the white and green mech at the top of his vocal capacity.

"Get me out of this, you no good son of a glitch! I'm going to kick your fragging aft! Slaggit, can't you do anything right?"

Sam laughed harder as Wheeljack grew even more flustered and started fumbling with the wires even more than he already was. The door to the room slid open, revealing Kup, Perceptor, and Hot Rod, who all stopped dead when they saw what was going on. Hot Rod and Perceptor immediately burst into laughter while Kup snickered and tried desperately not to do the same.

"What happened in here?" he asked, his amusement leaking into his voice.

"I, er, was working on an invention, sir, and Silverstreak and Cliffjumper came in to see what I was doing. They, um, startled me and I took a shot at them. I knocked over the shelves of wires and…this happened," Wheeljack finished looking sheepish.

Kup turned to Sam, still holding back his laughter. "And why, might I ask, are you not covered in wires?"

Sam smiled. "Cliffjumper didn't tell you? I've gotten a lot better at my shield, and a lot quicker, too. I kinda reacted on instinct when I heard the shot go off."

"Yeah! You covered yourself! Why not me?" Cliffjumper snarled.

Sam turned to him, frowning. "You know I still can't stretch it that far."

"Well, you could have _tried_ at least!"

A growl rose from Sam's throat and sparks crackled between his fingers. Cliffjumper immediately went still, staring at the youngling fearfully. A youngling's mood swings were very dangerous, and Sam was no exception to that rule. He lashed out at things that the others considered funny or just normal. Kup reached up and carefully wrapped his fingers around the boy, lifting him down from the shelf. The green mech crooned softly and ran a finger down the boy's back.

"It's alright, Silverstreak. He's just upset, that's all. Mechs say things they don't mean when they're upset. You know that, right?"

Sam didn't reply, glaring at Cliffjumper with glowing blue eyes. As Kup continued to stroke his back, he slowly relaxed. The sparks stopped and he sat down in Kup's hands, closing his eyes and taking slow, deep breaths to calm himself. When he opened his eyes again, they were still blue, but they weren't glowing anymore. Sam sighed to himself and leaped down out of Kup's hands, a good nine-foot drop, landing on the ground easily.

"I'm going to take a walk," he mumbled as he walked out the door.

He passed Blaster and First Aid in the hall going in the opposite direction. They were about to ask him what was going on, but one look at him and they decided that they could just see for themselves. Sam walked down the hall for a good ten minutes, turning a couple corners, when he stopped and looked up at his visage in a reflective plate of metal.

Sam's eyes were as blue as a fair sky on his home planet. He'd lost his brown irises a month before, and the pupils of his eyes were slowly getting smaller as time went by. The new color of his irises was expanding out into the white, and he knew that soon the entirety of his eyes would be blue. He also knew that they would eventually glow all the time, just like an Autobot's. As his eyes changed color, the clarity with which he saw things increased; everything seemed sharper and more in focus every time he woke up.

The same day he woke with his blue eyes, metal had appeared on his face. The silver substance had curled around his eyes first, making him look like a strange raccoon, and it was now down to his cheeks. As for the rest of his body, his back was more than half covered with metal. It had also bloomed in the center of his chest and spread out from there, too. Thick strands of metal were curling down his arms and legs already. He knew that in a few months, the shrinking amount of brown human skin that he had left would be gone, replaced with the smooth silver material.

Stellar Prime had brought his processor out of the stars long enough to calculate how long the boy had left until he was fully metal, basing the calculations on how the metal seemed to be spreading more rapidly each day. The mech had guessed around four and a half months. There was a bet going on between the Primes to see if he was correct.

But it wasn't the changing of his outward appearance that was bothering him. No, it was the changing of his inner structure. Sam was painfully reminded of that as a spasm raced through his body, making him cry out at the burst of intense pain and fall to his knees. A soft moan fell from his lips when the spasm went away and he was able to struggle to his feet.

Both First Aid and the Primes had told him that the pain he was feeling was from his body changing rapidly. The Primes, having knowledge of the human body, were able to clarify it. They told him that his human bones, nervous system, and muscle structure were being eaten away by metal which caused musculatory spasms and intense pain when it was eating away at a nerve. When he mentioned chest pains, they explained that his heart was going to change into a spark. But it hadn't yet. They said he'd know it by excruciating pain in his chest. The chest pains had gotten worse over days, now it was narrowed down to pain almost once an hour. Sam couldn't help being afraid. Vector had said that once they were exactly one hour apart, his heart would change, and Sam didn't know if he could handle that.

Sam stood there, staring at himself for a while, lost in thought about how much he was changing. He sighed and had just turned away from his reflection when another burst of pain shot out, this time from his chest. Sam collapsed to the ground and waited for it to fade as he held in groans of pain, but it didn't go away. Instead, it intensified, growing worse every passing second. Sam started screaming as loud as he could as fear raced through him. He was surrounded by the Primes' warm voices, but it wasn't enough. He needed somebody who could touch him and hold him in _this_ reality. As if his thoughts had been projected, footsteps rang through the halls and stopped right after they came around the corner.

"Silverstreak!" Cliffjumper shouted. "Blaster, go get First Aid and Kup now! I'll take him to the medbay!"

There was the sound of footsteps retreating, and Sam was suddenly lifted into the air. He was moved at a very rapid pace, only dimly registering those things as agony radiated throughout his body. A door swooshed open and he was set on a soft surface, and just in time. His stomach gave an almighty lurch and, he twisted and purged all the energon he had in his system. By the time the others showed up at the doorway, Sam was dry heaving and sobbing.

"By the Allspark! What the hell happened to him?" Kup demanded frantically.

"I don't know, sir!" Cliffjumper said, his voice a bit hysterical. "Blaster and I heard him screaming, and he was writhing on the floor when we got to him!"

"Move!" First Aid ordered and started pressing things to Sam's body.

The cool metal of the tools only made Sam sicker and he tried to kick them away. First Aid actually swore and pressed some buttons on the side of the berth, causing energy binds to wrap around his wrists and ankles, pinning him down. He was almost completely immobile, but his sobs and screams continued to fill the room. The only thought that could penetrate the wall of pain in his mind was that he wanted it all to stop.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Bumblebee! Wake up!" Optimus shouted as he shook the screaming yellow mech.

Bumblebee started awake with a gasp. He shook his head, clearing it from the post-recharge haze and stared around at his friends. Ironhide set down the energon cubes he'd gotten from the storage room. Ratchet approached him and started checking his vital signs while Optimus curled an arm around his shoulder and gave a worried whistle.

"What happened?" Ratchet said after his scans showed Bumblebee was just fine. "Was it a nightmare?"

Bumblebee nodded wordlessly, then shook his head, and then he started to whine. Confused but concerned, the others comforted him until he calmed down. Optimus continued to hold the yellow mech to him, even as the others moved away to sit down.

"Now, Bumblebee. What happened?" Optimus asked gently.

"I-I don't know," Bumblebee replied miserably once he remembered that he had a voice again. "I was sitting here waiting for Ironhide one click, the next I'm…" He trailed off, unsure.

"You're what?" Ironhide asked, slightly impatient.

"You'll think I'm crazy," Bumblebee mumbled.

"I've checked out your processor myself. You are not crazy, and I'll vouch for you myself," Ratchet said matter-of-factly.

"I, well…I _felt_ Sam."

"You felt Sam," Optimus repeated, confusion coloring his voice.

"Yeah, and I heard him, too. He was screaming in pain. A lot of pain. He just wanted it to stop, but it kept getting worse and worse!" Bumblebee leaped up and gave a whine of confusion as he spoke.

"Bumblebee, calm down," Ironhide said soothingly. "It was just a dream. Nothing more."

Bumblebee shook his head blankly. It hadn't felt like a dream at all. It had felt so very, very _real_ _!_ And yet…it couldn't be real. Sam was dead, and he wasn't coming back. Bumblebee sank back down to the ground and sighed.

"Could you pass me one of those?" he muttered, gesturing at the energon cubes.

"It must be from you thinking of Sam so much," Ratchet said as he handed the glowing liquid to Bumblebee.

"Yeah. Must be," Bumblebee sighed. He tilted the cube back and drank, trying to forget the screams of his charge.


	16. Stay?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No original comments. Was originally part of the last two chapters.

Sam opened his eyes blearily. A dull ache filled his entire body, but that was all that was left of the mind-numbing pain of earlier. _But how much earlier?_ he wondered. He sat up slowly and was greeted with the sight of the neat medbay. The youngling boy shivered at the amount of energy it took to do that simple motion. His stomach contracted, making Sam flinch as his hunger made itself known. He groaned softly as he allowed himself to fall back onto the berth. He felt weak in a way that he really didn't like. He lay there for a while before First Aid walked in. The medic took one look at him and gave a cry of relief.

"Oh, Silverstreak! You're alright! Oh, thank the Allspark! Is there anything I can get you?"

"Energon," Sam rasped then flinched. His throat was raw from screaming.

"Of course, Silverstreak. Be right back!" First Aid said and took off out the door.

Sam closed his eyes and just lie there, motionless. He vaguely realized that he wasn't taking in air. He didn't really need to, but the intake and output of air was like an old habit that he couldn't shake. His thoughts were interrupted when the door to the medbay opened again, and First Aid came back in with an energon cube. The medic set it down before gingerly picking Sam up and setting him on the edge of the cube.

"Drink as much as you need, but do it slowly or you'll purge again. I'll have the rest when you're done."

Sam's balance was wobbly and he had to be extra careful as he leaned down to scoop up a handful of the bright pink liquid. He noticed that there were no shadows of color that adding metal or other things caused, so it must be just straight, sweet energon. He drank slowly, savoring the flavor on his tongue as it slid down his throat. He didn't even try to count how many handfuls he took. He just jumped down off the cube when he was done, landing unsteadily and falling over.

"How are you feeling?" First Aid asked as he helped situate Sam before pulling the soft, black metal that the boy used for a blanket over him.

"Tired," Sam replied sleepily, curling underneath the warm metal.

First Aid chuckled sadly. "I would be too if I almost died."

"What?" Sam asked, staring up at the medic blankly.

"You nearly died, Silverstreak. You're spark rate was off the chart. It looked like it was superheating or something. It was bad. You scared us all when your spark completely stopped. It stopped for about a minute before it started beating again."

"My…spark _stopped_? Completely?" Sam asked, a tendril of fear worming past his exhaustion.

"Yes. We thought we'd lost you. It was, well, terrifying. For all of us."

Sam shivered again, suddenly feeling very cold. He'd died. Died for a whole minute. It was a scary thought, him not living any longer. He'd almost not survived part of his body's transformation. He made a hiccupping noise and First Aid gently stroked his back.

"It's alright. You're here with us still, Silverstreak. And you are one hundred percent stable. Now you'd better get some recharge. You look exhausted," First Aid said as he grabbed the energon cube and got up to leave the boy in peace.

"Wait!" Sam called after him.

First Aid turned around. "Yes?"

"Would…would you stay in here with me until I fall into recharge?"

First Aid shuttered his optics in surprise. That was such a sparkling-like request. It was innocent, in a way, and showed just how new to war this boy was. Over the years, First Aid had become used to death, and the idea didn't really scare him as much as it did at the beginning. Looking at the frightened youngling in front of him, First Aid felt a bit of his youth return, and he nodded with a smile.

"Of course I'll stay."

The medic walked over and sat down on the side of the berth, drinking down the energon cube before lying down beside Sam curling an arm around the boy. Sam sighed contentedly and snuggled into the warm, living metal. First Aid hesitated for a moment before he started to sing. Though the mech wasn't near Blaster in his musical ability, he had an enchanting voice. Sam drifted off to recharge, listening to the beautiful songs that the white and red mech sang to him.


	17. They're Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapters are going by much faster now. I can see a definite improvement in my writing style. I divided this chapter into two. Enjoy!
> 
> Original comments: Hello peoples. Another chapter. And after the last time skip, we are FINALLY at the one year mark on Cybertron. The second year will go much more quickly, probably only two or three chapters on it. But I think we're all eager for Sam to meet back up with the Autobots on Earth.
> 
> Anywho, I have another request for you peoples. I need to know what cars the Cybertronian Autobots should be. And I mean cars. Yes Perceptor was a microscope in the G1 series, but he needs to be a car in this story. I'll be taking these car suggestions for the next chapters, because I honestly have no idea what kind of cars they should be. So, pm me or leave a review of what cars you think they should be.

Sam sat down with his legs crossed as he waited for First Aid to tell him the news of his latest check-up. It was getting interesting to hear what changes were happening inside of him, as the metal outside him was now predictable. First Aid turned and smiled at him.

"Well, nothing unusual. The metal has progressed in speed, but no more than normal. However," First Aid said before Sam could speak, "I do believe that we need to talk."

"About what, Aid?" Sam asked, confused.

"Your appointment was scheduled for tomorrow. It's been the same time since we started this, so why show up early? Unless you feel something's wrong?" When Sam ducked his head, First Aid nodded as his guess was confirmed. "So, what's wrong?"

Sam sighed and frowned. "I-It's just the pain. I don't know how much longer I can stand it. It feels like my insides are twisting apart."

"What kind of pain is it?" First Aid asked gently.

"It's a persistent ache. It doesn't ever really seem to go away, always hovering. I'm so tired of it."

"An ache? Deep or shallow?"

"Definitely deep. Deep inside of me."

"Hmm. I think I know of something that will help with that. But the insertion is not pleasant in the slightest."

"If it will make the pain go away, I want it." Sam paused. "How do you insert it?"

First Aid grimaced. "Up the aft."

Sam groaned. What a choice! Constant pain or something shoved up his aft. Well, if it would make the pain go away...

"I'll take it."

First Aid shook his head. "Alright then. Turn over and brace yourself, but stay relaxed. It hurts less."

Sam obeyed, hiding his head in his arms as the Primes let out snickers around him. After a particularly snide comment from Pyro, Sam thought of several very creative curses. Pyro laughed loudly, but the Primes stopped teasing him. When something was suddenly shoved up his aft, Sam let out a scream of discomfort and tried to arch away from First Aid's gentle hands. The medic apologized, and told Sam that the worst part was over. There was a movement and a warm liquid filled him before the thing First Aid had used to insert the liquid was swiftly pulled out of him. As Sam sat up, he could feel the liquid being absorbed into his body quickly.

"I'm sorry, Silverstreak. I did warn you it was not pleasant."

"I know," Sam said then blinked and shook his head as the pain inside him disappeared completely. "Wow…that stuff works fast!"

First Aid chuckled at the comical look on the boy's face. "I know," he said as he gently picked Sam up and set the youngling on his feet. "Now get your shorts on, little one. I haven't seen you take in energon in a few days, and I want to see you intake some."

Sam leaned down and grabbed his shorts, slipping them on. When he straightened up, he tossed his hair away from his face. His hair was down past his shoulders by this point, but it wasn't all one color anymore. Scattered throughout the black hair were streaks of silver metal that was even softer than the metal he wore for clothes. In the three months since his heart had changed to a spark, the changes had spread even further. His pupils were completely gone, swallowed by the ever-growing light blue that used to be his irises. However, his eyes weren't completely blue yet; the blue was edged with last vestiges of the whites of human eyes. The metal that was his skin was closing in on the shrinking patches of his human skin as well. He knew that soon his hair and body shape would be the only things that made him look like a human and not a Cybertronian. Sam was brought out of his thoughts with a poke to the side.

"You're doing it again," First Aid said quietly.

"Doing what?" Sam asked, confused.

"Well…all of us have caught you staring at your hands with a wistful expression on your face. Is something the matter?"

"No, I just…No, nothing's the matter, Aid," Sam said with a sigh.

First Aid didn't look convinced, but picked up the now clothed boy and set him on his armored shoulder. As they walked down to the rec room, they heard the dulcet tones of Blaster's music echoing in the hallway. Sam sighed and relaxed against First Aid, pain free for the first time in months. Though he didn't like how he got it, he did love that pain medication. The door to the rec room slid open and they walked in, Blaster's melody getting louder. Said mech nodded in greeting and continued to play without skipping a beat. Sam lazily looked around to see just who was there.

Hot Rod was actually sitting next to Kup, looking rather uncomfortable, but serious about something. The green mech had his elbow on the table and was listening to his young soldier. Perceptor and Wheeljack were at another table, heads together and talking eagerly about some new plan that the red scientist had come up with. First Aid looked at Sam questioningly and the boy pointed over to Kup and Hot Rod's table. He wanted to see what the discussion was about. As they got closer, they could hear the conversation. Sam grimaced when he realized what the orange and yellow mech was talking about.

"Do you really promise not to get mad?" Hot Rod asked.

"Lad, I've said it several times already, but I'll say it again if that's what you want. I won't get mad at you as long as you tell me what really happened to that room. I want the truth from you, not from watching the security footage. I'll be more likely to go easy on you if I hear it from your vocalizer. Now tell me what happened," Kup's voice was gentle but commanding, a very stark difference from when Sam had first met him.

"Well…Silverstreak and I were playing around, ya know? And, well…I bet him that he couldn't shoot as far or as well as I could, and we sorta…"

"Got out of hand and destroyed the room," Sam muttered as he jumped down to the table, causing Kup, Cliffjumper, and First Aid to look at him.

Kup arched an optic ridge. "You could have gone down to the training room after you were finished cleaning and done the bet there. You wouldn't have destroyed that room. This kind of thing is what the training room was built for."

Both Hot Rod and Sam hung their heads. The bet had occurred the day before, and both Hot Rod and Sam had been waiting to be confronted by the Commander. They knew that they shouldn't have done it, but it had been such a good idea at the time. Kup looked over them for a minute before letting out a sigh.

"I can't let this go unpunished, you know."

"We know," they muttered, keeping their optics on the table.

"You're not allowed in the training room for two weeks. In addition to that, you get extra work around the base," Kup said after thinking it over.

Sam let out a soft groan. The no training punishment was for him. He loved stretching his abilities to the limit without fear of hurting anybody but himself, so most of his free time was spent in the training room, teaching himself better control of his abilities. Recently, he'd taken to expanding his shield. He was aiming to line the walls and ceiling with it eventually so that he knew that he could protect others and not just himself. He was brought out of his brooding when Kup spoke again.

"That's your punishment, and I expect you to fulfill it. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Sam sighed.

"Yes, sir," Hot Rod echoed, sounding just as miserable as Sam.

"Good," Kup said with a nod then paused. "Thank you for telling me the truth. I'm glad that you're not lying to me anymore."

Hot Rod smiled. "I respect you more now then I used to."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Kup chuckled. "But the credit goes to Silverstreak. I'd still be angry and cold if it wasn't for him."

"Yeah…that doesn't warrant lenience on the punishment?" Sam asked teasingly.

"No," Kup laughed. "It doesn't. You want to be a soldier under my command, you must take fair punishment."

Sam smiled then flinched as his stomach growled. First Aid chuckled and hurried to get the boy some energon. Sam eagerly started drinking the energon as soon it was set on the table, causing chuckles around the table. First Aid took the cube when the boy was done and took a sip. The atmosphere around the room was relaxed and happy as Blaster moved smoothly from one song to another, older one that Kup had taught him. Even Sam and Hot Rod were happy despite their punishment still fresh in their minds. There was a crash outside the door to the rec room and everybody looked towards the door.

"That must be Cliffjumper," Kup stated.

There was another thud and the door to the rec room slid open, making everyone freeze and the room go dead silent when they saw what was on the other side. Cliffjumper stumbled inside, blood trailing in his wake. The red weapons specialist was shaking violently and gasping as he leaned on a table for support. First Aid was up and beside Cliffjumper in seconds, slipping an arm around him and pulling the red mech's blue optics, dulled with pain, to meet his own.

"Cliffjumper, what happened?" First Aid asked in a whisper.

Cliffjumper looked at First Aid for a moment before sighing, "I'm safe." Right after the words left his mouth, the red mech fell unconscious in First Aid's arms.

About a day later, Sam was fiddling restlessly with his hair, listening silently to the soft, worried voices that filled the room. Kup and First Aid were in the med-bay, talking to the weak, but awake and alive, Cliffjumper. The red mech had been out for hours before waking up screaming as loudly as he could. The door to the room slid open, making all the mechs jump; seeing one of the toughest members of their team bloody and broken had spooked them badly. Kup walked into the room and looked directly at Sam and Hot Rod.

"You two. Your punishment? Forget it. I want you training as much as possible. Cliffjumper was attacked by the Decepticons during his patrol. They're moving back in this section of Cybertron, looking for energon."

The room was quiet as everybody registered what Kup had said. Perceptor suddenly let out a high-pitched whine of fear, his optics wide and frightened. Wheeljack reached over and held the red mech against his chest, trying not to react like that himself.

"They're back?" Hot Rod asked, looking shaken.

"As much as I wish they weren't, they are," Kup said sadly. "We're going to have to fall back into the old patterns. We must be quieter and stay in groups when we go out on patrol. Comm. links up at all times, no matter what you're doing. Regular training together will start tomorrow. In addition to that, I want you to also have individual training as often as possible. Silverstreak," Kup said turning to the boy. "You're young and new to this war. I want you to stay inside the base from now on, until I deem you ready to actually fight Decepticons. Breaking this rule will warrant extreme punishment. I don't want to see you harmed because of some stupid mistake."

"Yes, sir," Sam said without protest.

Back on Earth, he had seen some of the horrible things that the Decepticons could do to the Autobots. He'd even had them after him specifically, on more than one occasion. If they were determined enough, or scared enough, they would stop at nothing to get what they desired, even if it meant a loss of life.

"Good. The training will begin tomorrow. Rest now while you still can," Kup said before turning and leaving the room.


	18. One Year Anniversary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No original comments. This is another chapter that went by swiftly with very minimal editing. The biggest change is that this was a part of the last chapter. Enjoy!

Sam grunted as a shot crashed into his shield. He curled the pulsing blue surface out before launching it out like a net, pinning his three opponents to the wall on the opposite side of the room. Kup's voice rang out for the training to stop, and Sam cut off the electricity, sinking to the ground as tiredness nearly overcame him. His breathing, still a habitual thing, came out shallow and ragged as he sat on the ground shaking. A gentle hand picked him up and cradled him to a chest, which the youngling clung on to.

"Kup, the youngling can't take anymore," Cliffjumper said as he stroked the quivering boy in his hand.

"That's enough for today, anyway," Kup sighed. "Let's head to the rec room."

The tired group walked slowly to said room. When they got there, they each grabbed a cube of energon before collapsing tiredly in chairs. First Aid walked in the room and gave a cry when he saw Sam.

"Frag it, Kup! He's just a youngling! You can't work him so hard!" First Aid said as he hurried to scoop up the still shaking boy to look him over.

"First Aid, the 'Cons aren't going to go easy on him just because he's a youngling. If anything, they're going to go harder on him," Kup said before taking a long drink of energon.

"I know, I know, but please Kup. You've been driving them all hard for a month! Let them rest tomorrow, please." When First Aid saw the 'no' in Kup's optics, he took a deep intake of air. "Even if you don't let the others stop, I'm using my authority as a medic to override your commands. Silverstreak isn't going to practice tomorrow."

"If that's what you think is best," Kup said with a sigh, too drained to argue.

First Aid helped Sam intake some energon into his system before the boy curled up and rested against First Aid's chest. It was too true that Kup had been working them hard for an entire month. The green mech didn't want to see any of them go down in a battle with the 'Cons. In that month, Sam had truly realized what it meant to be a soldier in a war. He had been worked to collapsing several times, and he'd had to work through the pain of the rest of his internals changing.

A few days ago, the pain of changing had dwindled to nothing as his new body finished. His skin was now all smooth metal, as was his hair, which had grown down to the middle of his back in a short space of time. His eyes were the pure, light blue of a summer sky, and he could see as a Cybertronian could. Everything was sharp and detailed, and he could see, not only the beauty of things, but also, subconsciously, the scientific and mathematical side of things. His mind was quick and decisive, putting things together even faster than Perceptor could.

His communication with the Primes was becoming a subconscious thing as well. He could have an entire conversation with them in his mind while talking out loud to another mech. His internals were metal, too, from his muscles to the places where his organs had been. The only internal organs that he had left were his stomach and his lungs, and even they were different because of the changes. Sam now felt that he fit his Cybertronian name more than his Earth name, and had asked the Primes to refer to him as 'Silverstreak' instead of 'Sam.'

"Silverstreak?" First Aid asked softly. "Are you alright?"

"Hm? Yeah. I'm fine. Just a bit tired," Sam replied.

"Good." First Aid paused. "Hey, Perceptor? Didn't you say that today had some significance earlier?"

Perceptor's optics brightened. "Yes, I did! Silverstreak, do you know what today is?"

Sam thought about it for a second before shaking his head. "No, what is today?"

Perceptor beamed. "Today is the day that, a year ago, Hot Rod found you and brought you to our base."

Sam blinked in surprise. "Is it really? I've been here for a year?"

Hot Rod smiled. "Well I'll be slagged. It is, isn't it?"

"And what a wonderfully insightful year it's been, too," Wheeljack said with a warm smile.

"Yeah. Without you, we'd all be the same as we were a year ago," First Aid said fondly.

"What do you all say, eh? A toast to Silverstreak!" Cliffjumper said with a smile as he lifted his cube.

"To Silverstreak!" Kup said as he and the others lifted their energon. "And his timely arrival!"

"Hey, mech," Blaster said after they'd all drank to the boy. "What ya say I play ya a song?"

Sam nodded. "That would be nice."

"Anythin' in particular you'd like?"

"Nah, surprise me."

"Alright, mech."

Blaster got up and cheerfully went over to his instrument. He placed his hands on the strings and started to play, the notes spiraling beautifully throughout the room. Sam sighed happily and leaned against First Aid again, closing his eyes and listening to the beautiful music. As he listened, he thought about how it hadn't seemed like a year had gone by. It seemed like only yesterday when he woke up, frightened beyond belief in the medbay and had found out he was changing. As he relaxed even further, a thought crossed his mind that hadn't for a while. _'I wonder what Bumblebee and the others are doing.'_


	19. Wounded

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. I got caught up in other stories. Here is another chapter, cut in two.
> 
> Original comments: Hello peoples. Another chapter. I have great news for yous all. I've got ALL the cars for the Autobots. Thank you to everybody who gave me suggestions.
> 
> Oh, and SnowDusk. No, the times are different. HOWEVER I didn't want to confuse anybody so I used standard Earth time. Hope that clarifies it.
> 
> Now to all you peoples, I have another request. I've had this idea for a long while now. Because of that, I've thought of many, many ways Sam could meet the Autobots and the emotions he feels at that point. I've gone through pretty much everything: shame, joy, sadness, guilt, anger, ect. I need you to tell me how you want Sam to feel when they meet. *smiles* Pretty please.

Bumblebee smiled internally as he listened to the friendly banter from the two people inside him. Lennox was in the driver's seat, hands lightly curled around his steering wheel to give the impression of driving, while Epps was reclined in the passenger's seat. They were on a long overdue break from military affairs for a couple months. Optimus had sent Bumblebee with them instead of Ironhide as the black mech had the tendency to talk about fighting even on his time off. Optimus had specifically instructed Bumblebee to let the two soldiers rest and to not talk about war. Bumblebee complied without argument. He really didn't want to talk about war anyway.

"So, Bee," Lennox said casually, turning the conversation to include the Camero. "What do you want to do, eh?"

"Honestly? I'd like to hear some Cybertronian music. But as I know you mean 'what do you want to do here on Earth?' I'd have to say I'd like to race."

"Race? With who?" Epps asked with a laugh.

"Oh, I was thinking of some great Autobot dragsters," Bumblebee said sarcastically.

"Okay, okay! Well then, where should we go?" Lennox asked.

Bumblebee smiled as they started to debate on the best race tracks located in the immediate area. Yes, it was nice to take a break from fighting the war every once in a while.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sam watched silently as Hot Rod came limping into the rec room, energon leaking from a long gash in his arm. He was closely followed by Kup, who, though in better shape than Hot Rod, looked battered and tired. In the past four months, the Decepticons had moved into the city and started attacking every Autobot patrol that they spotted. As their patrol routes became known to the Decepticons, the attacks on them had become more frequent and planned. By now, Kup was mixing up the routes to confuse the enemy, but they were still attacked nearly every other day. Sadly, Sam was now used to seeing his friends stagger into the base with wounds scattered across their frames, and he knew that he couldn't do anything to help. He was sorely tempted to sneak out of the base with a patrol just to help, but he had promised Kup that he wouldn't. That he would stay safely in the base until his Commander told him he was good enough to fight in a real battle.

_First Aid?_ Kup said into his comm. link. _We're back. Hot Rod was hurt pretty badly._

_I'll be there in a moment._ First Aid said wearily.

It wasn't enough that the ones who went out on patrol were getting hurt, but First Aid was exhausted himself. Being a pacifist didn't mean that he didn't have his work in an army. As he was the medic of the team, he had his work cut out for him every time a patrol came back wounded. The door to the rec room slid open and the red and white medic came through. He immediately went to tend to Hot Rod as Kup sat down heavily in a chair and sighed. Sam leaped easily from table to table and landed in front of Kup, looking up at the mech with his big blue eyes.

"What happened this time?" Sam asked quietly.

"Fragging Seekers got us near the end of our round. I managed to dodge, but Hot Rod…" Kup gestured at the wounded mech and sighed. "It's getting bad, Silverstreak. I mean bad. I've never seen the 'Cons in such a large force before."

"I'm sorry Kup." Sam paused. "Maybe I could—"

"No, lad. Not yet. You're not ready yet." Kup looked at the disappointed look on Sam's face and softened his voice. "Now, now. You've been doing so well lately. I know it must be hard for you to not do anything, but I want you to be safe. I can't imagine losing you now."

"I know," Sam muttered, unable to keep the hurt out of his voice. Oh, how he wanted to help!

"Silverstreak. You're getting better. I'd say it'll only be two or three months before you can join us on patrols and in battles. Just bear with us, alright?"

"Whatever," Sam said as he looked away.

"Now, little one," Kup sighed. "Please. I know it's hard, but please. Just wait another two months. Just two months."

Sam nodded and said nothing. He was sick of the endless training while his entire being itched to fight with the mechs that were hurting his friends. When he'd made the promise not to go out, he hadn't known how hard it would be to see the mechs he'd come to see as part of his family wounded. As Kup started to gently stroke his back, softly telling him that he was almost ready, he realized that he might not be able to wait for that length of time. He might actually break his promise.


	20. Disobedience

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No original comments, as this was taken from the previous chapter.

Sam kept his breathing still as he silently trailed Cliffjumper and Perceptor. He was very grateful for his speed, as Cybertronian vehicles were very, very fast. But he was just as fast on his feet. Sam dove behind a building when Cliffjumper and Perceptor stopped to drink a bit of energon. His cloak drifted lightly to settle on the ground around his feet.

Perceptor, Wheeljack, and First Aid had presented it to Sam as a gift for his patience and hard work in training. It was the same soft, supple metal that Sam wore as shorts, and it was beautifully crafted. Cybertronian glyphs were carefully etched into the soft metal; they called him pure sparked and full of fire. The cloak even had a hood. Unfortunately, even the beautiful work of art, made with love and hard work, couldn't stop Sam from breaking his promise. It had been one and a half months since Kup had told him to wait, but he simply couldn't do it anymore. He was tired of watching his friends get hurt without being able to do anything. So he'd told the mechs at the base that he was taking a nap, and had gone after Cliffjumper and Perceptor.

Sam watched as they finished their energon quickly before getting up and transforming into their smooth, Cybertronian vehicles, driving off quickly. Leaping out of his hiding place, Sam followed, making sure to keep out of sight. He followed them for a while longer before they stopped again and transformed. He was just close enough to hear their conversation this time.

"Well, Percy, we'd better head back," Cliffjumper sighed as he stretched and looked around.

"Percy? You picked up that nickname from Silverstreak, didn't you?" Perceptor asked, fond amusement coloring his voice.

"Yeah. The youngling sort of rubs off on ya after a while."

"Speaking of Silverstreak…He's been very patient what with not being able to come out and all."

"Yeah," Cliffjumper snorted. "I'd have never been able to wait so long. I'd have stood right outside the doors of the base just to spite Kup and his slagging rules."

"Perhaps we should ask Kup if he could come out with us next time. It's only a week earlier than what Kup said he should wait for, and I think Silverstreak deserves it."

"I'd have to agree with you there. We'll ask him about it when we get back."

Sam felt his spark sink. They were going to ask Kup if he could go out early. He felt the guilt fill him and felt sick. He shouldn't have left the base. He decided to go back to the base and pretend this had never happened. He turned to go, then froze. A Decepticon was staring at him, a cruel smile in place. Sam immediately grabbed his hood and jerked it over his head; even though he had changed much in the time he'd been on Cybertron, his face was still recognizable to anyone that knew what they were looking for. The Decepticon didn't seem to realize who he was, but he still reached down and snatched him up with a soft laugh.

"I do believe you Autobots lost a little something," the Decepticon drawled loudly as he stepped out from behind the building that Sam had been hiding behind.

"What are you talking about Decepticon?" Cliffjumper snapped as he charged his weapons then froze, horror written all over his face. Sam felt so ashamed as the both red mechs gasped and looked faint. "S-Silverstreak? What are you doing here?"

"Evidently disobeying orders," the Decepticon said with a smile. "This is why you Autobots are so weak. You don't even teach your sparklings to behave properly." He gave Sam a good shake at the word 'sparklings.'

"You put him down!" Perceptor growled. Sam felt a thrill of fear run through his body at the normally gentle scientist's tone.

"You won't dare fire at me while I have your defenseless sparkling in my hands." The Decepticon smirked as Perceptor's and Cliffjumper's weapons lowered to their sides.

"First of all," Sam said in a low voice. "I'm a _youngling,_ not a _sparkling_. Second of all, I am _not_ defenseless."

Sam allowed his anger to rush out in a single electric shock that made his captor cry out and drop him. Sam hit the ground and rolled before making a dash for Perceptor and Cliffjumper. The Decepticon growled and fired his weapon at the silver boy. Sam, reacting on instinct and training alone, had put up a shield as soon as he had heard the weapon discharge. The bullet exploded against his shield, but after so much practice with the Autobots, he kept it up easily.

The youngling heard weapon fire over his head, but it was coming from in front of him, not behind him. He dove behind Cliffjumper, fear racing through his veins as the Decepticon dodged and rolled behind some cover, shouting for some of his comrades to come and help him. Perceptor snatched Sam up and pulled Cliffjumper behind a building. The weapons' specialist looked down at him.

"Well, Silverstreak, you wanted to be in a battle, now you're in one!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bumblebee swerved off the race track as raw fear slammed through him. Lennox and Epps shouted inside of him in surprise, but he paid them no mind. The yellow Camero offlined his optics as he came to a screeching halt and sank into the feeling, hoping for more. The smells of freshly discharged weapons, fear, and heated metal met his olfactory sensors. Confused shouting and gunfire met his audio receptors. He could feel hard metal beneath his feet as his breathing came out shallow and fast. He was terrified as gunfire sounded too close to him for comfort…

"Bumblebee!" Lennox and Epps shouted at the same time.

Bumblebee was jerked out of the realistic sensations that had been filling him a moment before. Fear still rushed through him, and the sounds of the battle seemed to echo in a distant part of his mind. Lennox's fist connecting with the dashboard made him pay attention to his frightened passengers.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Epps bellowed, gripping the seats hard enough for Bumblebee to hiss at the uncomfortable feeling.

"Epps!" Lennox scolded the turned his voice to Bumblebee in a much gentler tone. "What's wrong, Bee? Is something wrong?"

"N-no. I just need to rest for a moment. Thank you."

The yellow mech tuned out the two humans and concentrated on the part of his mind that still held the smells and sounds of battle. The intense fear was still there mixed with feelings of shame. Bumblebee didn't know where it was coming from, who was experiencing it, or even if it was real, but he didn't care. He had to calm down whoever was feeling it.

The scout remembered the feelings of fear during his first few battles and decided that this fear fit his experiences to the letter. He concluded that whoever was feeling this was young and inexperienced in the art of war. Intaking a large amount of cool air, the yellow mech felt his confidence and bravery well up inside his spark before letting it overflow into that back part of his mind. He hoped that, if it was real, he had helped whoever it was that was being overcome by fear.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sam was cowering behind the building as intense firepower rushed over his head. His fear was overpowering him, and he found himself unable to move. Just as he was about to start whining and crying, his fear was swept away by a wave of confidence and bravery. He smiled and suddenly knew that he could do this. This was what all that training had been preparing him for!

Uncurling his body, Sam projected his shield around him and analyzed what was going on around him. Perceptor and Cliffjumper were engaged with four Decepticons while a fifth one was sniping from the roof of a nearby building. Sam focused on that one. He used his dexterity and speed to climb onto the roof of the nearest building then leaped from rooftop to rooftop. When he finally got to the roof the Decepticon was on, the fight below had heated up even more. Sam got right next to the Decepticon before he was noticed. The sniper turned to him, red optics wide in surprise.

"What the frag?" he yelled, turning his gun to the youngling.

Sam ducked the shot fired and grabbed onto the mech's arm, sending jolts of electricity through the metal and circuitry beneath him. The Decepticon screamed loudly before his vocalizer shorted out and he tumbled from the roof with Sam still hanging onto him. Sam kicked himself away from the now unconscious sniper and landed on the ground with a grunt. His optics, the only thing visible of his face out of the shadows of the hood, took in the surprised looks around him. Sam didn't know what he had been worried about.

_Looks like training really does pay off in the long run,_ he thought, smiling as he let electricity snap between his fingers, and headed to the closest Decepticon.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sam sat silently in the med-bay as First Aid fussed over him. The medic had demanded that he see every inch of the youngling, which had made hiding the jagged cut on his chest hard to do. He was reluctant to remove the cloak that hid his wound, but eventually reached up and undid the well-hidden clasps located inside the metal fabric that kept the front edges of it together and kept it up on his body.

First Aid neared hysteria before he carefully sterilized and bound the wound in metal. As soon as he was done, Kup came in and demanded to speak with him alone. First Aid left grudgingly and Sam was left sitting naked in front of Kup in more ways than one. He drew his cloak around his body, but the feeling of being exposed didn't go away. Guilt and shame bubbled up inside him and he couldn't meet the disappointed optics of Kup. After a few minutes of silence Kup spoke.

"You promised me you wouldn't leave the base until I told you that you could."

"I-I know," Sam mumbled, pulling his cloak tighter around him.

"Why did you do it?"

"I felt so helpless, watching you guys come in wounded and battle-worn and knowing that I couldn't do anything to help you. I couldn't just sit there and watch anymore."

"Oh, Silverstreak, I know. Believe me on that. Back in the early days of the war, the older mechs wouldn't let me do much to help out. It hurt me; I thought they didn't think I was good enough. I found out later that I wasn't ready for battle, and they knew it. They did all the things that they did for a reason, just as I do for you."

"I-I know that. I just…I…" Sam couldn't finish. Whines started to slip from his throat as tears slid down his cheeks. He'd disappointed his Commander, and he didn't like the feelings of guilt and shame. "I'm sorry!"

"I know you are, lad," Kup said as he pulled Sam to his chest and held the boy against him. "Just let it out."

The stress of the battle and of his conflicted emotions poured out in whines and sobs from him. He pressed close to the warm, living metal that was Kup and let out everything that had been bottled up inside him for weeks. When his emotions were spent, he just lay there in Kup's gentle hands and snuggled close to the mech.

"I'm sorry," he said again.

"I know," Kup repeated the paused. "I'm going to have to punish you for this. You disobeyed me."

Sam nodded. "Yeah. I know."

Kup thought about it for a moment. "You can't go back out on patrol for three weeks. You are also confined to the medbay until First Aid releases you. After he releases you…you're going to be put in the brig for three days."

"The-the brig?" Sam asked fearfully.

"I did tell you that extreme punishment would come from you disobeying."

"Yeah," Sam sighed as the door to the medbay slid open.

"Look, Kup, I don't care if you're done or not. Silverstreak needs rest, and I'll order you out of here if I have to!"

"No need. We're done talking," Kup said as he gently set Sam down and stood up. "He isn't to leave the medbay until you say he can."

"That order I'll gladly follow," First Aid said as he stared at Sam.

Kup left and First Aid forced Sam down and told him that he was to recharge. Sam would have argued if he wasn't so tired from the fighting and the emotional breakdown. He curled underneath his soft blanket and descended into fitful dreams.


	21. Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was also divided into two. Why do I keep doing that? Because it makes sense to me. Enjoy!
> 
> Original comments: Fast update, I know. But I get bored in school and start writing. Anywho, this is the last chapter on Cybertron. All the rest will be on Earth. *sighs* I will miss writing on Cybertron, but no matter. They go back in the sequel-Damn! I've said too much!
> 
> To the anonymous reviewer that signed as Von, I have a few things to explain. Sam is NOT a pet, and they don't see him as one. He isn't an infant, and he does have the mind of a young adult, but he does need the comfort. A youngling's emotions are more volatile than any humans, and that coupled with the emotion controlled abilities can turn deadly if they are too agitated. Older mechs comfort younglings more-so than sparklings in order to prevent deadly results. And this is just the way that the story goes. Also you can picture Sam any way you want too.
> 
> *smiles* I hope you all enjoy. I really do. And many thanks to my beta, SkyHighFan.
> 
> Oh and I think I forgot a disclaimer. I DON'T OWN TRANSFORMERS! That should cover it.

Sam was practically flying over the ground as he ran beside Kup and Wheeljack. It was nice to be out of the base in the open air, even if they were all in danger. In the six months since his punishment for disobeying had ended, he'd been taught by Kup how to patrol the city properly. The green mech had brought Sam out with him for every patrol until he was satisfied that the boy knew everything he could teach him.

"Let's stop and rest here," Kup said suddenly.

Sam slid to a stop beside a pile of splintered metal. Wheeljack and Kup transformed and sat down, keeping their weapons close to their sides in case of an attack. Sam pressed against Kup, seeking reassurance that his Commander was there. Kup smiled as he as he looked down at the silver boy.

"Still worried I'll leave you alone?" he asked gently. When Sam shrugged, Kup chuckled. "You'd better get something in your fuel tank. First Aid made it very clear that you need metal in your system now."

Sam grimaced as it brought up the painful memory of his sickness. He'd fallen ill a few weeks before with no apparent cause. First Aid had discovered that needed to take in metal on a regular basis in order to stay healthy, just like a normal Cybertronian.

At Kup's reminder, Sam stood up and walked over to the pile of metal that they were hiding behind to look over his choices. He selected a piece of one of the softer, sweeter metals and sat back down beside the green mech. He took a bite out of the piece and hummed as it crumbled in his mouth, spilling its sweet flavor across his tongue. With an eagerness that still startled him, he ate the metal, loving the way it fell apart between his teeth. He knew that, had he still been human, he would have never been able to bite into metal, no matter how soft it was.

The boy had caught himself wondering what the metals on Earth tasted like, a very inhuman thought that made him a bit afraid of what he'd been turned into. He quickly finished off the metal, sucking his fingers clean as he scanned the shadowed alleys around them for any sign of movement. After a few more minutes of rest, they set off again, racing through the barren streets along their predetermined route. Sam saw a flash of moving metal down a side alley and he froze, hunkering down low, but didn't shield himself. Yet. Kup and Wheeljack transformed and kept low to the ground as they looked to the place that Sam was staring so intently at.

"What is it?" Kup hissed. Sam looked harder into the darkness and heard a weapon charge.

"Decepticon!" he bellowed and dove to the side as a bullet slammed into the spot he had just vacated.

Sam's shield flared around him and he crouched in a defensive position as six Decepticons ran out of different alleyways and surrounded them. Before they could fire, the leader of the small group stopped them with a raised hand.

"Hold your fire!" The Decepticon knelt down and stared at Sam with sharp optics. Recognition flared in the red depths and he murmured, "Witwicky."

Sam's body froze as he heard his Earth name from the Decepticon's vocalizer. His shield actually disappeared, fear building inside him as the Decepticon in front of him looked triumphant.

"Witwicky! Samuel James Witwicky!"

"Silverstreak? How does he know your real designation?" Wheeljack asked slowly, not taking his optics off the Decepticons.

"You're supposed to be dead, boy," the Decepticon said in English. "I saw Shrapnel take you down. You were completely destroyed."

Sam swallowed nervously. "I-I…Well…"

The Decepticon stared at him before his gaze drifted up to the Autobots. "Tell me, Samuel. Why is it they call you 'Silverstreak?' Why do they not call you by your real name? Unless…they don't know who you are."

"They know who I am!" Sam snapped, unable to meet the red optics before him.

"Ah, yet you say it in English. They do not speak this tongue, correct? So, they can't understand a word we're saying." The Decepticon stood up and looked at Kup before reverting back to the Cybertronian language. "Tell me, Kup. Why aren't you with Optimus Prime and his team?"

Kup narrowed his optics. "That's really none of your concern, now is it?"

"Are you telling me that you don't know where they are? That Samuel, or Silverstreak as you call him, has not told you their location?"

"Why would Silverstreak know where they are?" Wheeljack snapped.

Sam felt his spark sink at the Decepticon's next words. "Because, Autobot, they're on his home planet."

Sam closed his eyes and could feel the shock and disbelief from Kup and Wheeljack. He didn't want to face them so he did the only thing that could have distracted them from such news. He centered all his anger and hatred at the leader of the Decepticon team and lashed out with his electricity. The Decepticon went down with a cry of pain and the others immediately attacked all three of them.

Sam fought hard, trying to shove down his fear of the talk with Kup that had to come from this. The disappointed look on the mech's face when he realized that the Decepticon had been telling the truth…He was so distracted by the thoughts of what was going to happen, he didn't hear the shot until it was too late to put his shield up. Pain erupted from his chest and he dropped to the ground, gasping as something liquid bubbled over his metal skin. He looked down and saw energon gushing out of a huge wound that stretched across the middle of his torso. After noticing vaguely that he could see what his internals were made of, a hand grabbed him up and he could hear gunfire. Kup's voice was above him.

"We've got to get him to First Aid now, Wheeljack!" Kup shouted. That was the last thing Sam heard as darkness enveloped him.

An unknown amount of time later, Sam groaned as he came to. He noticed that he was naked beneath the warm blankets that covered him. He sat up slowly, flinching at the splinters of pain that came from his chest. He looked down as the blanket pooled around his waist and saw that his entire chest was covered in soft metal bandages. They stretched from under his arms all the way down to his waist. He felt as if someone were staring at him, so he turned his head to look around and found himself looking directly into Kup's blue optics. Sam froze and whimpered, shrinking away from his Commander.

"Tell me the truth, lad. Is Optimus Prime and his team on your home planet?"

"Yes, sir," Sam whispered, lowering his head.

"Look at me," Kup commanded. When Sam's eyes met his, he started to speak again. "Now, lad, you are to start from the beginning. Tell me how you met them, what happened, everything. Do you understand? Everything." There was silence for a few moments. "Now, Silverstreak."

Sam started talking, unable to help himself. The story poured out of him, from buying Bumblebee in the used car lot and finding out he had an alien living in his garage to meeting Optimus Prime and the others and learning that he had the key to finding the Allspark. He spoke of the Allspark's destruction and of Megatron's defeat and rebirth. He talked and talked until he finally ended on the point where Hot Rod had found him. The only part of the story he'd left out was the fact that he could talk to the Primes. When he was finished, he and Kup sat there in the ringing quiet for what seemed like forever as the Sam waited for his Commander to speak.

"That's quite a story, Silverstreak," Kup finally said. "My only question is, why didn't you tell us before?"

"At first it was because I didn't trust you."

"You don't trust us?"

"No! I mean, yes, I do! But back then I didn't."

"Well, why didn't you tell us after you learned to trust us?"

"B-because I didn't want things to change. I'm happy here. Really happy. And I fit in with you guys. Back on Earth, I never seemed to fit in with anybody, not even Miles, and he was my best friend! When Optimus and the others came, I fit in with them a bit more than I did with other humans, but I still didn't belong. Here, with you and your group, I do belong. We're all misfits and we don't care. Fitting in is one of the best things in the universe, and I have the chance to experience it here."

"Ah, lad. Don't you realize that we'd be coming to Earth with you?"

"Yeah. That's another thing that stopped me. I'm afraid you'd treat me...different there than you do here."

"Why on Cybertron would I treat you differently?"

"B-because my race of people is weaker than and not as intelligent as a Cybertronian. In Ironhide's words we are 'a primitive and violent race.'"

"Silverstreak, you are my friend. I promise you with all my spark that I'll try not to treat you differently than I do now, but things do change."

"I know, and that's all that I ask. Do I dare ask what the plan is?"

"Yes. We are going to Earth." Kup paused. "Do you know the coordinates?" Sam gladly let Stellar answer that for him. Kup looked pleased. "Good. Then we shall leave soon. Get rest while you still can." After a moment's thought, the green mech added. "Do you mind if I tell the others?"

"They deserve to know the truth. Tell them I'm sorry for not saying anything before."

"Will do. Now you get some recharge."

Sam lay down and closed his eyes. He heard the medbay door open and Kup spoke in a low voice to First Aid. The exchange was brief and the door soon closed behind the Commander. He felt gentle hands pull his blanket, which was still around his waist, up to cover him completely. Just as he was drifting off, First Aid said in a soft voice.

"Recharge well, Samuel."


	22. Goodbye Cybertron, Hello Earth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is another chapter, edited lightly. They're much easier to edit. My writing definitely improved since the first chapter. You know, the first time I posted it.
> 
> No original comments, as this was cut from the last chapter.

Sam stared out across the now familiar Cybertronian landscape. He couldn't really believe that he was about to leave the best place he'd ever been to, and just to head back to Earth. If he'd been a misfit before, what would other humans think of him now? He sighed and took a bite of the metal he was eating. Perceptor had told him that he'd be sleeping for almost the entire trip just like the rest of them would be, and First Aid was having everybody load up on the nutrient-rich, at least to Cybertronians, metals around them. He was about to take another bite when he looked his meal and suddenly felt sick. He threw the metal away as bitter tears stung his eyes. He didn't want to go back to the hell that he called home. He wanted to stay here where, though an oddity, he was accepted. He heard footsteps coming up behind him.

"Something wrong, Silverstreak?" Kup asked softly.

"I don't want to leave. I want to stay here," Sam hissed, twisting around to look at Kup. Anger turned to pain as he felt his chest wound open up. Again. His cry of pain had First Aid over beside him in seconds.

"What happened?" he asked immediately.

"B-bleeding!" Sam gasped as he wrapped his arms around his chest.

"Frag it! Take off that cloak."

Sam's hands were shaking with his pain as he undid the clasps and let the cloak fall to the ground. His bandages were gone before he could blink. First Aid swore as a gush of energon oozed out of Sam's re-opened wound and dripped to the ground. The medic pressed the boy onto his back and started to work. The red and white mech was swift and precise, as he knew Sam's body as well as any of his other teammates, and the energon flow was quickly staunched.

"Thanks," Sam muttered as First Aid rewrapped his bandages.

"No problem, Silverstreak. Just try not to move so much. Or so swiftly."

"Alright."

First Aid nodded at him with a soft smile and went to help finish with the preparations to leave. They had to close up the base and gather the things they were taking with them. First Aid was taking medical tools, to be prepared. Blaster, to everyone's delight, had carefully taken apart several Cybertronian instruments and had them all stored in a compact carrying case. Cliffjumper didn't really deem it necessary to bring anything, but he was stuck with helping Perceptor and Wheeljack with the energon converter. Hot Rod, to Sam's immense surprise, was taking along datapads. Kup was going to be the one carrying the youngling boy himself.

Sam pulled his cloak back on and looked back over the horizon. Kup was still watching him.

"You need to take in more metal," the green mech finally stated.

"I'm full," Sam lied.

"Silverstreak," Kup said warningly. "You know you can lie to everyone else on this team, but I've been around longer then them. What's wrong? Is it bitter?"

"I'm _human!_ I'm not supposed to _eat_ _metal_! I'm not supposed to intake _energon!_ I'm not supposed to _be_ metal! I guarantee you that I'm not going to fit in back on Earth! I didn't before, and I most definitely won't now! I mean look at me Kup! I'm a freak!"

"Silverstreak, calm down," Kup sighed. "I've already told you that you'll fit in with us no matter what."

"It's not you I'm worried about," Sam grumbled. "It's not even the humans. It's the other Autobots. I-I don't know what I'll say to them. I don't know how I'll feel. They saw me as human, and that's how they're going to treat me when they find out who I am."

Kup looked thoughtful. "How about this? You have the cloak and you can hide your entire body in it. We'll designate you as 'Silverstreak' instead of 'Sam.' Then you can tell them in your own good time who you are."

"That sounds…alright. I guess," Sam admitted as he nodded.

"Sounds good to us, too," Blaster said from behind them.

Both Kup and Silverstreak—the latter more slowly as to not cause any new damage to his wound—spun around. Every other mech on the team were grouped together staring at them. Blaster smiled warmly and looked around.

"I'm really gonna miss this place."

"We all are, lad. We all are. Is everything ready?"

"Yes, sir. All we must do now is shed our armor then we can go."

"Good. Ready, Silverstreak?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, Commander."

Kup smiled and scooped the boy into his hands gently before walking with his team to the place they were going to take off. Sam looked up into the starry sky and made a soft noise in his throat.

"It's going to be strange to see the sun and moon again after all this time without them."

"Your planet has a sun and moon?" Hot Rod asked.

"Yeah. As I remember, they were both quite beautiful."

"Well, I'm looking forward to seeing them," the red and orange mech replied with a smile.

After that, nothing more was said. They were all unsure of what to think about leaving their home planet and not being sure when, or even if, they'd ever returned. Their outer armor was shed and they changed into their space pods. Sam wrapped his cloak around himself tightly before stepping up into Kup's hands as the mech changed around him. When the transformation was complete, Sam found himself in a snug compartment just big enough for him to curl up. The pod jerked and shuddered as they took off, but as soon as they were out of Cybertron's thin atmosphere, the ride smoothed out and Sam suddenly felt unbearably sleepy.

"Recharge. We'll be there before you know it," was the last thing he heard before his mind went blank.

Sam's entire body screamed at him as he was thrown against the side of the space pod quite suddenly, jerking him out of the soundest recharge he had ever been in. He gasped and tried to shake the sleep out of his head as the pod jerked violently again.

"W-what's going on?" Sam asked, still half-asleep.

"We're entering Earth's atmosphere. Brace yourself for planetary impact!" Kup's voice commanded.

Sam had just grabbed on tightly to a couple sturdy looking metal rods when there was an almighty crash that almost threw him into the side again, and he could feel the pod tearing through the ground before it finally stopped. There was no movement for a moment while everything settled, but then Kup started shifting his form. As soon as he saw an opening that he would fit through, Sam leaped out of the mech and onto soft, damp earth. Kup finished transforming and pinged his team to inform them of his location before looking around.

"Wow," he breathed as he looked around. "It…it's beautiful."

They had landed near a lake that shimmered in the blazing afternoon sunlight. To one side of the lake was a forest that stretched back as far as Kup could see. All of the different colors dazzled the green mech, who had never seen so many of them so bright at one time. Sam smiled as the others came to rejoin their leader with the same dazzled expressions on their faces. It made Sam feel suddenly proud of his home planet, that it could do this to them by just being itself.

"C'mon. We need to find you guys vehicle modes and get you connected to the world wide web. You can learn all of Earth's languages from there," Sam said after the Autobots had looked around for a while. He had to admit that they looked strange without armor. "I think I know just the vehicles for you guys."


	23. New

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, for those of you just joining the party from the e-mail you will be sent, alerting you to a new chapter, let me catch you up. A couple weeks ago, I decided to edit this story, as the first half has been begging for an update for a while. I've been dividing a lot of chapters into multiple parts to better fit my writing style. So this is not a new chapter. It is an old one that's been edited. To be honest, many of these later chapters don't need nearly as much editing as the first half of the story, so if you really want to see the changes, go and read this from the beginning.
> 
> To those of you still waiting for me to finish updating, I'm going through the chapters faster now, so I will probably post another couple 'new' chapters today. Enjoy, all!
> 
> Original comments: Another update! I hope yous guys enjoy. *laughs* Finally you guys see their new car forms. Tell me what you think of them. I don't own them.
> 
> P.S. I know I'm evil. *laughs* You'll know why when you read it!

Sam smiled as he watched the Autobots admire their new forms. He had to admit that he'd done a pretty good job of giving them car forms that matched their old Cybertronian forms. At first, he'd been a bit surprised and a bit frightened at the fact that he could surf the internet in his mind, but he'd quickly gotten used to it as he looked up different cars faster than a human could blink.

Hot Rod had been the easiest to match. Sam had given the young Autobot a 2002 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am with an orange-red paint job. On the hood, there was a red 'firebird' with flames rippling out of its wings that created the loveliest pattern when Hot Rod was in robot mode. For Perceptor, he decided to keep it classic and gave him the form of a standard 1990 Lamborghini Diablo with a smooth cherry red paint job. As soon as the scientist had gotten his car form, he had launched into researching about his car's make, internal structure, and anything else he could find.

Sam had been sorely tempted to give Cliffjumper the exact same form as Bumblebee, but rationalized that since Cliffjumper wasn't his lovable yellow guardian, he wouldn't give the red mech the same car. Instead he put Cliffjumper into a 2004 Mach 1 that was torch red with a black stripe down the hood. Kup got a dark green 1994 Jeep Wrangler. The green mech actually laughed when he noticed that it was an older model, but didn't complain. In fact, the Commander loved the car form, claiming that it reminded him of his previous alt mode.

Sam took one look at Wheeljack and knew what he wanted the inventor to be. The green and white mech reminded him of Doc Brown from the 'Back to the Future' movies, so he put him in a 2005 DeLorean, but he did rearrange the paint job to a pleasant white and green pattern, close to the way Wheeljack looked back on Cybertron. First Aid he had to think about for a moment, as he was pretty sure the mech would want to be an emergency vehicle of some kind. He'd finally settled on a 2009 BMW X3 Emergency Rescue Vehicle. Blaster he put in a more modern vehicle, a 2008 Lotus Elise that was a sparkling candy red that suited the musical mech's personality perfectly.

"Man, I love my new alt mode!" Hot Rod exclaimed in English, enjoying the feeling of his mouth forming the alien words.

"This is such an interesting language!" Perceptor said with a laugh.

"We get new vehicle forms and all you can think about is the language?" Cliffjumper asked with a snicker.

"Oh, let him be," Kup said. "You know he can't help it. He's a scientist."

"Yeah." Cliffjumper paused. "It is a pretty 'cool' language though."

"I like the planet itself. So vivid and colorful. And the sun is so bright and warm," First Aid stated shyly.

"I'm into the sweet music," Blaster said dreamily. "Especially the stuff you humans call 'jazz.' Such a smooth rhythm and perfect harmonies."

Wheeljack smiled. "I'm actually with First Aid. It's so beautiful and peaceful here."

"The only reason it's peaceful is that we're away from human settlements," Sam said softly as he looked around the meadow they were in.

As everybody looked over at the boy, they noticed that Sam's silver body didn't really belong in the colorful meadow. He stood out, and the Cybertronians couldn't help but wonder if they didn't belong either. As the thought crossed their minds, they turned their heads, almost in unison, to look at each other, seeing if they stood out as much as Sam. The boy, with his long metal hair and big, blue eyes, actually fit in _better_ than they did. They suddenly felt very out of place on this wonderful, organic world. Sam chuckled at the suddenly uncomfortable expressions on their faces.

"Don't fit in here, eh? Welcome to the club."

"Hey, at least there's more than just you in it now," Hot Rod pointed out.

"Yes, I guess there is," Sam said with a warm smile then paused. "You know, it's strange to be speaking English again…" They boy's eyes went wide. "My voice! I-I can't speak around them!"

"What? Why not?" Kup asked in alarm.

"When I speak in an Earth language, my voice is almost exactly the same as when I left! The only thing that changed is that weird undertone that's in it!"

"Hm. Then you best speak in Cybertronian, lad, if you want to keep who you are a secret," Kup said seriously.

Sam nodded. "I figured that. Honestly, I don't mind. I don't really want to talk to the humans, anyway." He looked around. "You guys can explore a bit until the Autobots and NEST get here."

"They're coming already? But I haven't contacted anybody," Kup said, confused.

"They already know we're here. They knew even before we entered the atmosphere. They also know that we're Autobots, not Decepticons. The only thing they didn't know was where we were going to land. I can guarantee you they're on there way here."

"You know an awful lot about this," Perceptor observed.

"I spent every bit of free time I had with the Autobots, or on Diego Garcia. I was there when new Autobots came to Earth. I know the procedures for this," Sam said with a casual shrug. "I even got to greet a mech, but that didn't go over too well."

"Why? What happened?" Hot Rod asked curiously.

"He looked at me then up at Bumblebee and started rambling off all of these regulations that were being broken from Bee bringing me out to see him. 'We're supposed to be undercover, Bumblebee!' That's what he was saying when Optimus broke the mech off from his monologue and told him that it was alright. That I was _the_ Samuel James Witwicky and that I was one of the first to meet them. Prowl looked over at Bee and said, 'Lucky break,' then walked off discussing things with Optimus."

"Prowl?" Hot Rod exclaimed as horror and fear worked their way onto the mech's face. "Prowl the _tactician_ is here?"

"Yeah, why?" Sam asked slowly.

"Because _he's_ the one who sent me to Kup's team! He thought I should go to the brig for years until he heard Kup needed more mechs on his team! He's the ass that caught me after I screwed up that battle plan!" Hot Rod groaned. "He hates me just because I'm a rule-bender."

"Don't you mean 'rule-breaker'?" Sam asked.

"Break is such a strong word. I prefer to think that I bend them," Hot Rod replied with a smirk before it disappeared again. "He's going to read the record I have with Kup and condemn me to the brig until this blasted war's over!"

"Not necessarily, lad. There's a _much_ bigger rule that I've broken, and I'll take full responsibility for it," Kup assured him.

"Oh? What rule is that?" Hot Rod asked.


	24. Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this chapter was divided into three. This is part two. No original comments. Enjoy!

"What in the universe are you doing with a _sparkling_ in this war?" Prowl bellowed. "Don't you know it's breaking four different laws, all of which were written by the Council? Are you fragging insane, Kup?"

The newly arrived Autobots watched the show, trying desperately not to laugh, as Prowl was screaming at Kup for Sam's presence on Earth. The boy in question was sitting cross-legged on Wheeljack's shoulder, torn between amusement and annoyance. He hated being called a sparkling. Out of all the Autobots on Earth to find them, it had to be Prowl. He'd gotten to the spot they'd been exploring, taken one look around, and had started shouting about how many rules and/or laws they'd been breaking or had broken, not only Cybertronian, but from Earth as well. He'd just been winding down when he'd spotted Sam and started up again. Both Sam and Hot Rod knew from personal experience that Prowl could go on for hours on one single infraction. With two, they'd probably be there for the whole night and well into the next morning.

"First off, Prowl, he's not a sparkling. He's a youngling," Kup said calmly.

"Oh, so you're down to breaking just two laws now! That makes it perfectly alright!"

"Second of all," Kup continued, as if he hadn't been interrupted. "I'm a Commander now, and you will respect me as such. Do I make myself clear, soldier?"

Prowl opened his mouth to say something when an amused sounding voice came from one of the two cars that had just slid to a stop.

"I told you I heard Prowl's dulcet tones," the yellow Camero said with a laugh before he and Ironhide transformed.

Sam couldn't help the sharp intake of breath as he looked at his guardian for the first time in two years. When Kup and his team had found out that he'd had a guardian, and that it was Bumblebee, they had started talking about what an honor it was to know somebody who was respected enough to receive one. Sam had found out that a guardian was a rare honor bestowed upon few, and that the guardian would select his or her charge personally and fight to the death for him or her. He knew the full impact of what Bumblebee was to him this time, and he was moved deeply. He almost leaped off Wheeljack's shoulder and ran to the yellow scout, but he reminded himself that he wanted to keep his identity a secret. At least for now. Quite suddenly, he realized that Bumblebee had _spoken_. Not with a radio station or prerecorded show, but his actual voice! That meant his vocalizer was fixed!

"What are you yelling at them for?" Ironhide asked. "Did they scratch your paint?"

"This is legit Ironhide! Look! He brought a sparkling!"

"Sparkling?" Bumblebee asked in surprise.

"He's not a sparkling. He's a youngling," Kup repeated patiently.

"Why did you bring a youngling, Kup?" Optimus' smooth voice cut through the conversation and silenced everybody, even Prowl.

"He had nowhere else to be, Optimus," Kup replied, not looking at the Autobot leader.

"Look at your superiors when they speak to you!" Prowl snapped.

"I thought I told you to mind your tongue, soldier!" Kup snarled and stepped closer to Prowl. Sam grimaced. He had been afraid that seeing Optimus would send the Commander back into his old behavior.

"You are not my superior!" Prowl shot back.

"Actually, Prowl, he is. He was promoted to Commander," Optimus replied in a stern tone. Sam had to keep in his laughter when Prowl's optics flared brightly then dimmed, the Cybertronian equivalent of paling.

"I-I'm sorry sir! I-I wasn't aware that you were promoted. I-I didn't—" Prowl stuttered.

Sam couldn't help it. He let out a high trilling noise that was a Cybertronian's laughter. Every mech in the clearing that wasn't on Kup's team looked at him. Optimus took a step toward him, and Sam shied away, pressing into Wheeljack to give the impression of being shy. He'd figured that that would be a good excuse to not talk much or reveal his body to any of the Earth Autobots.

"A shy one, eh?" Ratchet asked as he drove up and transformed. "I'll get that out of you yet. I'm the medic."

Ratchet walked forward and reached for Sam, but before the boy could react, he was snatched off Wheeljack's shoulder. He found himself in the hands of First Aid, who had an amusing mix of reverence and anger on his face as he stared at Ratchet.

"H-he's my patient, sir," First Aid mumbled in response to Ratchet's harsh look.

"Really? Your designation and rank, soldier," Ratchet said, looking First Aid over.

"D-designation? Umm, First Aid, sir. My rank is medical officer for Kup's crew," First Aid felt his optics turn pink in a Cybertronian blush.

"I take it that you are the only one?" Ratchet asked. At First Aid's meek nod, he continued. "So, what are you in for?"

"I-in for? I don't understand."

"You're in Kup's crew. What'd you do to get put in there?"

First Aid's optics were bright pink. He really didn't want to tell Ratchet of all medics that he'd nearly killed a mech. Thankfully, he was saved from answering when Optimus interrupted.

"So how many of you want to transfer out?"

"Transfer out? Why in the universe would any of us want to transfer out?" Cliffjumper asked incredulously.

"None of you want to transfer out?" Optimus' voice was skeptical and all the mechs around them looked stunned.

"No," they all answered at the same time.

"Well…that's different," Ironhide stated.

"So, about the youngling..." Bumblebee said staring directly at Sam. The youngling pressed further back in his hood, afraid, yet hopeful, that he'd be discovered immediately.

"Ah, his designation is Silverstreak," Kup said, his voice warming without him knowing.

"You sure he has nowhere to go?" Optimus said. "We can't afford any emotion-based disasters."

"He's surprisingly good at controlling his abilities," Blaster said smoothly.

"Blaster!" Ironhide exclaimed and smiled. "Now we can show the humans what good music is!"

"Hey, mech, I like their music."

"That's probably the first thing you looked at," Ironhide teased.

"Guilty as charged," Blaster chuckled.

While the others started talking, Optimus approached Kup and pulled him aside. Kup still couldn't look at Optimus as a soft whine of embarrassment escaped his vocalizer.

"You're still ashamed over that?" Optimus asked kindly. Kup nodded wordlessly. "I haven't told anybody, Kup, and I never will."

"I-I know," Kup whispered. "It's just…"

"I don't ask you to trust me right now, but to at least give me a chance."

Kup nodded. "I will. Just…give me time."

"Good. I'll try to be trustworthy," Optimus said happily, patting Kup's shoulder.

Kup smiled. He could already see the kindness that Sam had been talking about. They walked back over to the group and Kup chuckled as he saw their teams getting along. All except for Sam, who was standing over at the edge of the lake. Kup excused himself and walked over to join Sam.

"What's up?" Kup asked, using the new Earth lingo he'd learned about.

"Hmm. I want Bee to know who I am. But...I'm afraid," Sam muttered.

"Why?" Kup asked softly.

"I'm so different. My body...it makes me feel like a freak. I'm not human. I'm not Cybertronian. I'm somewhere in between. I'm afraid of what they'll think of me."

"If they're really your friends, then they won't care."

"Still…I think I'm going to keep who I am…who I used to be a secret. Will you still keep it with me?"

"Of course," Kup replied. "For now at least. You will have to tell them eventually."

"Yeah," Sam said with a sigh. "I know."


	25. Reveal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a little different. I divided chapter 23 into three, but I added half of the next chapter to this one. Good luck figuring that out, even I'm confused!
> 
> Original comments: Hello again! Here's another chapter, and I shall have mercy on you, but not on Sam. Poor boy...Anywho, please enjoy.

Sam crouched in the corner of the room, invisible to anybody who didn't know he was there. It had been two weeks since he and the rest of Kup's team had arrived on Earth. So far, nobody had figured out who he was. Sam was used to the habits of all the mechs in the base as he'd known them longer than they thought. The twins were the hardest to dodge; they loved trying to get his cloak off to see his face.

"Silverstreak!" Perceptor called and gestured to him from a table. Sam hurried over to the red scientist, easily leaping to the top of the table.

"Yes, Percy?" he asked in a very low voice in English.

"Sit with us," he said gesturing at Wheeljack. Sam complied eagerly. Not talking to most everybody on the base got lonely at times, and he was glad to have company.

"Gonna tell them yet?" Perceptor asked conversationally.

"No," Sam said shaking his head. "I can't stand the idea of being treated like a fragile human. It's bad enough that the twins treat me like a, and I quote, 'a cute, shy little sparkling who just needs a friend to play with.'"

Perceptor and Wheeljack both burst out laughing. "Are you serious?" Wheeljack choked out.

"I am serious. They treat me like I'm a toddler. The rest are pretty good at treating me like a youngling, though."

"Oh? And how would that change if you told them your true name?" Perceptor asked.

"You've seen the way they treat humans! And the way they talk about them! Please. Let's change the subject."

"Do you like being back on your home planet?" Perceptor asked in a very low voice after a moment's thought.

Sam smiled and was about to answer when an ear-shattering alarm blared through the room. Sam's spark was beating wildly and he looked around to see what was going on. Kup hurried up to them and scooped up Sam, gently placing the boy on his shoulder.

"What's going on, Kup?" Wheeljack asked.

"Six Decepticons landed and are now destroying everything in sight. We have to go stop them. Move out!"

Sam felt a smile stretch over his hidden face. He hadn't been in a battle since Cybertron. He was finally going to get to fight again! Kup, Perceptor, and Wheeljack raced out the door with the other Autobots. When they got outside, they all headed to the transport. Sam felt his optics brighten as they stepped onboard and settled in for the flight. He was growling impatiently by the time they took off. He wanted to fight, and Kup's reminder to stay patient did little to help. The transport seemed to take forever to the eager youngling. When they finally landed, the Autobots flooded out of the plane and Optimus groaned at the damages that littered the forest. Sam gasped as the Decepticons came into view, weapons ready to fire. The six Decepticons were the exact same six that had ruined everything on Cybertron for him. Now they'd come to Earth.

Sam quickly found himself hiding behind a tree, cloak curled close to his body. Kup had ordered his team away from the battle at Sam's urging, though they all knew what had to happen at this point. The boy knew that the Decepticons had come to Earth to see if he had brought the Autobots here. So far, all of Kup's team had managed to avoid being spotted by any of the Decepticons, but Sam was still tense.

"C'mon!" Hot Rod hissed impatiently. "Just tell them who you are already so we can go fight!"

"Hot Rod, it's the boy's choice. If he wants to hide who he is, let him," Kup whispered back.

"Where the hell is Kup and his crew?" Ironhide yelled to Optimus.

"I don't know, Ironhide!" Optimus shouted back. "I saw them in the transport!"

Sam gasped as the Decepticon leader smiled wickedly and said something to the biggest of his mechs. The big mech grinned then charged straight for Bumblebee. He grabbed the yellow mech and easily separated him from the rest of the Autobots. As soon as they were far enough away from the main fight, the big mech and another Decepticon began to beat him mercilessly

"No!" Sam moaned as his guardian began to bleed.

"Silverstreak! Come out, come out wherever you are. Or the yellow one gets it!" the Decepticon leader's voice was sing-song and playful, but the threat was very real.

"What are you going to do?" Perceptor asked softly. "Silverstreak? Where did he go?"

"Silverstreak! Get back here!" Kup shouted after the boy.

Sam was heading towards the Decepticon leader. The mech allowed his soldiers to continue beating Bumblebee until the boy was directly in front of them. When Sam halted five feet in front of him, he commanded them to stop then stared at the youngling.

"Let Bee go," Sam whispered, keeping his head down.

"Fine. Release the mech," the leader drawled lazily.

Just as Bumblebee was released, a bubble of energy engulfed Sam's body and lifted him up into the air. The see-through bubble was suspended about seven feet above the ground with Sam kneeling, still completely covered in his cloak, in the middle of the bottom. Sam realized that the entire battle had stopped and knew, without even looking, that everybody was staring directly at him.

"L-leave Silverstreak alone! T-take me instead!" Bumblebee gasped, trying to push himself off the ground.

"Tell me boy. Why is it your own guardian calls you by your second name?" the Decepticon whispered, walking around the bubble and tracing it with a long finger.

"You know why," Sam whispered back, not moving.

"They don't know," the Decepticon confirmed then smirked. "So now is the perfect time to tell them!" The last was said loudly enough for all to hear.

"Tell us what?" Optimus asked carefully, keeping his weapon trained on the Decepticons.

"You heard him, Silverstreak. Tell them. Tell them who you really are." When Sam didn't respond, the Decepticon continued. "Tell them how you're not really dead. Tell them how you've been on Cybertron the whole time. Tell them how, even back here on Earth, you've hidden from them like the cowardly child you are. Tell them, Samuel, and show them your freakish new face." The Decepticon paused. "Or else your precious guardian gets it, and I know you don't want that."

Sam felt his body go strangely numb as he listened to the Decepticon spill his secrets yet again. He flinched when the dark mech threatened Bumblebee, and knew in his spark that he couldn't let the yellow mech get hurt. Not when he could prevent it. He reached up slowly, his hands trembling as they emerged from the cloak to the watching Autobots and Decepticons, and lowered his hood. Gasps came from the Autobots as they stared their old friend.

"You know, back on Cybertron you actually looked normal. Here you look ridiculous!" the Decepticon leader snickered, and then they all burst out laughing.

Sam leaned forward slightly and let his silver hair cover his face as his eyes filled with tears. All the Decepticons were throwing humiliating comments his way about the way he looked. But even the comments couldn't stop him from looking up through his hair to see his guardian's reaction. Bumblebee's face held hurt, confusion, and shock. When Sam looked into the yellow mech's optics, he had to look away quickly. The light blue depths held a single question: Why didn't you tell me?

Sam brought his knees up to his chest and buried his face in his arms as tears slipped down his cheeks. He was such a horrible person, to have lied to his old friends, and he knew they'd never forgive him for this. Suddenly the Decepticons laughter was cut off by a metallic clang. Bumblebee was on his feet, optics blazing with anger, and the Decepticon leader was on the ground.

"Nobody teases my boy!" Bumblebee snarled as he lashed out at the next mech.

The battle resumed quickly, this time with more heat from the Autobots side. This time they had something more precious to fight for: the honor of a friend. Meanwhile, First Aid and Perceptor were trying to figure out a way to get Sam out of the bubble. The boy was being no help, instead, still curled up and silent. Perceptor finally sighed.

"Wheeljack!" he shouted across the battlefield. The inventor was quickly by his side.

"Yeah, Percy?" he asked. Perceptor rolled his optics, a gesture he'd picked up from the humans. The nickname had carried over into the English language, unfortunately.

"Do you have some of those charges? I'm pretty damn sure those things are the only way to blast this open."

"It'll burn him!" Wheeljack exclaimed.

"He's had some pretty bad burns before. He can take it," First Aid replied tersely. "He has to get out of there, and he's in no condition to help. He's emotionally distressed, and we can't get through to him."

Wheeljack relented and placed a charge on the bubble. He set it, grabbed Perceptor and First Aid and ran a distance away to escape the power of the explosion. Sam heard the beeps and knew what was coming, but he couldn't really be afraid. The explosion indeed got rid of his circular prison, but super heated his cloak. He managed to get the cloak off, but not before suffering burns on his hands, forearms and chest. He shivered as First Aid picked him up and carried him into the shadows of the forest. Sam still said nothing as the medic began to cleanse and wrap his wounds, all the while staying silent himself. First Aid knew that Sam would need to speak with his old friends. Kup came up to them, dusty and tired looking.

"How is he?" the green mech asked gently.

First Aid shook his head. "He won't speak and he barely moves. He's really upset."

There was an almighty explosion and a cry from Bumblebee as a huge cloud of smoke erupted into the air. Sam looked up sharply at the cry of his guardian. Bumblebee's arms were being held by one Decepticon while the leader was beating him. The yellow mech was in pain, and Sam didn't like it.

"Bumblebee!" Sam shouted. "Let him go!"

Sam grabbed up his now cool cloak and jerked it around his body as he ran out to the battle, ignoring the cries of protest from Kup and First Aid. He felt electricity snapping against his fingers as he ran. As soon as he was close enough, he tossed out a rope of electricity and threw it around the Decepticon leader's neck. He jerked back trying to pull the mech away from Bumblebee. The Decepticon turned around and shot at him, but the boy threw up a shield and blocked it. When Bumblebee whined in pain, Sam's eyes blazed as Pyro's temper became his own. He sent a violent jolt to the mech through the rope, using more power than he ever had before. The Decepticon gave a single cry before he burst, the electricity too great to be contained. Energon and metal flew in all directions, coating the mechs that stood too close. Sam himself was completely covered in the energon, cloak and all.

The battlefield was dead silent for a moment, and then the Decepticons panicked. The one holding Bumblebee threw the yellow mech away from him and ran as fast as he could away from Sam. The other Decepticons quickly followed, tripping over each other in their haste to get away. The Autobots, on the other hand, were all standing in shock, staring down at the bloody mess that lay all over the ground.

"Silverstreak!" First Aid cried out, running out of the forest toward Sam.

The red and white medic broke the others out of their shock and movement suddenly filled the metal-strewn field. First Aid was over beside Sam already. The boy's knees had given way and he was now kneeling in the energon soaked ground, shivering as his fresh burns throbbed. He felt dizzy and weak, but at least Bumblebee was safe. When First Aid's gentle hands closed around him, Sam relaxed. Voices demanding information and full of concern buzzed around him. The boy closed his eyes and let his tired, aching body rest, letting the lull of voices pull him into the warm, welcome, and painless embrace of sleep.


	26. Bumblebee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was cut from the end of the last chapter, so there are no original comments. Please enjoy, and know that I might get the rest of this story up today.

Bumblebee stood looking out over the ocean, listening to the conversation behind him. He was, for the most part, unresponsive to Kup's story of Sam changing and becoming part of their team. Bumblebee didn't give a damn about all the changes, only that it was his boy, and he was safe, sound, and, more than anything else, _alive_. He was waiting for Sam to wake up so that he could talk with the boy directly and ask him why he didn't trust him enough to reveal who he really was. That was the first and only thing Bumblebee had asked Kup. It also happened to be the only thing that Kup wouldn't tell them.

"I'm sorry, lad, but that's for Silverstreak to explain to you," Kup had said seriously.

"His name's Sam!" Bumblebee had snarled back before going over to the spot that he was still standing in.

First Aid came out the door and whispered to Kup, who nodded at the medic and watched as he went back inside. Bumblebee felt a surge of anger when the green mech just continued on with his story, not telling them what First Aid had said. The yellow mech turned and walked inside the base, glad when nobody tried to stop him. He walked straight to the medbay and tried to open it, but it was locked.

Bumblebee knelt down and broke open the panel that concealed the wires to the control panel and quickly cross-wired them; he wasn't a scout for nothing. The door slid open, and Bumblebee went in. Sam lay on the berth, awake and staring up at the ceiling. He turned to see who had entered and his eyes went wide when he saw Bumblebee. The yellow mech let the door slide close behind him before, in a moment of childlike anger, smashing the control panel located inside the door. Nobody was getting in or going out until he had gotten some answers. Sam actually looked afraid as his guardian approached him.

"Hello, Sam," Bumblebee said quietly.

"Um, h-hi," Sam whimpered in English.

Bumblebee sat down on the side of the berth, staring down at Sam. "You know what I want to talk about, don't you?"

Sam nodded, and he spoke bitterly. "Yeah. Why I'm such a coward."

"Sam, you are many things, but I do not classify you under coward."

"But I was afraid to tell you about…me."

"Ah. That's what I want to know. Why _didn't_ you tell me?"

"I was afraid," Sam repeated, looking away.

"Why? You know you don't have to be afraid of me, so why would you be? Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you! It's just…"

"I'm listening Sam," Bumblebee said patiently. "And I won't judge you."

"Well," Sam said slowly, trying to put his thoughts and feelings into words. "Kup and the others treat me like a mech. A Cybertronian. I was afraid you guys would treat me like a human, but I'm not human anymore! I-I like being treated like a mech. It makes me happy. And…" He trailed off, suddenly feeling shy.

"And?" Bumblebee prompted gently.

"Well, I look different. I'm a freak, Bee."

"Show me."

"What?" Sam asked in alarm.

"Show me how you're a freak," Bumblebee repeated.

Sam opened his mouth to protest, but stopped and thought. Back on Cybertron, Kup's team didn't really ever comment when they saw him naked. He recalled First Aid telling him about how Cybertronians were unashamed of their bodies, and, keeping that thought in mind, stood up shakily and let the blanket drop. He couldn't help the hot blush that spread across his cheeks as Bumblebee looked over his new body. His silver form had black metal bandages on his arms, hands, and around his chest. The yellow mech tilted his head and smiled gently after taking in Sam's whole body.

"I don't see anything freakish about you."

"You don't?" Sam asked, looking up at his guardian.

"No, I don't. I see Sam," Bumblebee replied simply.

Sam smiled and pressed against Bumblebee's warm side. How could he have not trusted Bumblebee? The yellow mech had been his closest friend for years, and had never once made fun of him for anything stupid he'd done (and holy hell, had he done some stupid slag). Bumblebee smiled warmly and curled a hand around his boy, lifting him easily up to optic level.

"Sam, remember this. I will always love you. You are my best friend and my charge. You do know what the true definition of a guardian is now, correct?"

Sam nodded. "I don't feel that I deserve you, though. You are the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Bumblebee laughed softly. "I can still remember your first reaction to me. Something about me being Japanese…"

Sam laughed. "Seeing as how I've been to your home planet, I can confirm that you are _definitely_ not from Japan."

"Indeed. Cybertron is nothing like Japan." Bumblebee paused. "What do you think of our music?"

"Oh, I love it! Blaster is amazing! He can make almost anything into a musical instrument, and, no matter what, it sounds great!"

"Of course he does. He's Blaster," Bumblebee replied. There was a pounding at the door and Sam started in Bumblebee's hands.

"What the hell was that?" Sam asked.

"Bumblebee! Open this door!" Optimus called from the other side.

"Um, I can't," Bumblebee called back. Maybe smashing the controls had been a _bit_ extreme.

"What do you mean you can't?" Ratchet demanded.

"I, er, destroyed the controls…" Bumblebee flinched. Ratchet was going to kill him, put him back together, and kill him again.

"You did _what?!_ " Ratchet bellowed.

"Calm down, Ratchet!" Ironhide growled. "I can blast through the door, no problem."

"You are _not_ blasting through the door of _my_ medbay!"

"Fine then, we'll have to fix the controls," Optimus mediated.

"Sorry!" Bumblebee said sheepishly.

"Oh, you're going to be sorry when we get through this door!" Ratchet snarled.

"I can get you through the door," Sam said, amused.

"You can? Well then what are you waiting for?" Ratchet asked impatiently.

"I'll get you through the door if you don't hurt Bumblebee," Sam replied, grinning at his friend.

"What? Oh fine, just open the damned door!"

Sam grabbed his shorts up and pulled them on before getting ready to leap off the berth. Before he could, Bumblebee grabbed him up and carried him over to the controls without question. Sam smiled up appreciatively before turning and putting his hands into the exposed circuitry. His fingers worked quickly, plugging the wires into the proper places. There was impatient mumbling from the other side of the door, but Sam ignored it and concentrated on putting all the wires in the correct places. When everything was back in place, Sam pulled his hands back and relaxed in Bumblebee's hands as the door slid open. Optimus, Ratchet, and Ironhide came in and stared at Sam, who smiled nervously at them.

"Is it really you, Sam?" Optimus asked gently.

Sam rolled his eyes. "No. I'm a Decepticon whose molecular structure was changed into this strange form to spy on you cursed Autobots."

"That's Sam alright," Ironhide said, unable to keep the affection out of his voice.

"So…you're different…" Ratchet stated, his optics taking on a gleam of interest that all medics seemed to possess when faced with something new.

"You can look me over once I'm better, but you'll have to get First Aid's permission," Sam said with a tired smile.

Ratchet looked thrilled. "Really? Ooh! I can't wait!"

"Sam?" Optimus asked.

"Yes, sir?" Sam replied automatically.

Optimus looked surprised then frowned. "First of all, there's no need to call me 'sir' when we're not on duty. Second of all…why didn't you trust us?"

Bumblebee cut in and answered for Sam, unconsciously starting to pet the boy's back with gentle strokes. Sam sighed, enjoying the feeling of Bumblebee's rough fingers stroking his back. His eyes were closed so he didn't realize that the Autobots were staring at him until Optimus spoke.

"I recall that you used to hate it when any of us did that."

"Hm? Did what?" Sam asked, opening his eyes and staring up at the Prime.

"Pet you like that," Ratchet replied.

"Mm? Oh, now I know it's just the way you show affection. I like it. So nice…" Sam trailed off, relaxing further into the petting.

"You need to sleep," Ratchet said suddenly. "That was quite the burst of power that you used."

Sam had no complaints there. He stripped off when Ratchet told him to and allowed himself to be covered with his warm blanket. To his surprise, Bumblebee lay down next to him and pulled him close to his chest. Sam snuggled into the warm metal and easily fell asleep. Before he did, he heard the Autobots murmuring a good night to him. He knew that when he woke up, he'd have to have a more revealing talk with all three of them, but at the moment, he was too tired to care.


	27. Too Much

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is a chapter that I did not divide into however many. So, enjoy it, and know that I will most likely get done with this today.
> 
> Original comments: Hello my peoples, and sorry for the long wait. I wanted to take a short break, but then I got sick and couldn't work. I hate getting sick. Anywho, I has finished this chapter, and am already working on the next one. I must thank SkyHighFan for betareading this chapter, and welcome suggestions for this story, and...the sequel I AM going to do. I've already got a general idea for it, but I want to know what you'd want to see in it. *smiles* I'll ask for sequel suggestions again closer to the end of this story. Enjoy.
> 
> To GavinDarklighter the bit between Bee and the 'new guys' as you put it was in there for you.
> 
> To Sipi3. You said Sam got it too easy. I'm changing that. This chapter and the next one or two will have some upheavals in it. *laughs meanly* BOY is Sam gonna get it!
> 
> Oh, and one more thing. In all my reviews I've got one so far who has asked about Sam's parents. You guys not curious about that or something?

Sam was curled up on Bumblebee's shoulder, resting his body. The burns were healing, but First Aid demanded that he not do anything strenuous. To Sam's annoyance, Bumblebee translated that as 'my boy shouldn't be doing anything at all.' The yellow mech hadn't left his side, to the point that Sam hadn't been on the ground since before the battle five days before. At first it had been endearing, and Sam had just smiled and borne it without complaint. But now he wanted a little alone time. Even though he wanted it badly, he couldn't tell his guardian. Bumblebee looked so very happy every time his gaze fell on Sam, and the boy couldn't make him sad again.

"Silverstreak?" Hot Rod asked quietly.

"Hm?"

"You want to come outside with us? Aid said that you could," Cliffjumper whispered.

"Yeah! But why are we whispering?" Sam lowered his voice.

"Bee's asleep, and I'm pretty sure you want to get away from him for a little while," Hot Rod said knowingly.

Sam smiled up at him. Boy did he ever want to! He quickly leaped up to the orange and pink shoulder, settling down as Cliffjumper and Hot Rod headed outside. Kup, Wheeljack, First Aid, Blaster, and Perceptor were lounging out in the sun, and they all brightened when they saw Sam. Bumblebee was more protective of his charge than ever, and that meant that mechs only got to talk to the youngling boy when the yellow mech said so.

Though he couldn't bring himself to be mad at Sam for his deception, he had no such inhibitions for the rest of Kup's team. He had turned a cold shoulder toward them and not allowed any of them to speak with Sam at all. Sam had once meekly asked his guardian to let him speak with them, and he had been greeted with such a cold, furious gaze that he'd dropped the subject immediately. Even if he would have gotten angry at anybody else for that, he just couldn't get mad at his guardian anymore than Bumblebee could get mad at him. Sam didn't know what it was, but he couldn't even hurt the yellow mech without feeling unbelievably guiltily.

The silver boy was broken from his musings when Blaster called over to him. "Man, you just gonna sit there and stare into space, or are you gonna come say hi? We ain't talked to ya in a while!"

Sam smiled and laughed. "Maybe I don't wanna say hi to you!"

Blaster pretended to be hurt. "Man, is Bumblebee teaching you how to be mean, or what?"

Sam went still and all joking left his demeanor. "That's not funny."

"Hey," Blaster said in alarm. "Hey I was kidding. I didn't mean it, okay?"

"He's my guardian. He's supposed to be protective of me."

"I know, I know. Forget I ever said anything."

Sam nodded and, closing his eyes, took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes he smiled. "Anyway, how are you guys?"

The conversation picked up quickly and effortlessly after that hitch. They discussed how they had been and what they'd been up to in the days since Sam's unveiling. They all had to admit that it was different, just as Sam had predicted. After a while, Kup looked at the boy thoughtfully.

"You were never this calm back on Cybertron," he finally said.

Sam looked at the green mech and shrugged. "Your point?"

"You seem calmer around the Autobots that you first met. Especially your guardian."

"Familiarity?" Sam suggested after he thought about it.

"That's as reasonable an answer as anything else," Perceptor commented. The Autobots were quiet for a moment.

"Silverstreak, let me take a look at those burns of yours," First Aid said, reaching for him.

Sam leaped into the medic's hands and took off his cloak. The red and white mech's skilled hands had the bandages off in a few seconds, and the knowledgeable blue optics were looking over his burns. First Aid gingerly prodded one of them and Sam gasped as a line of pain shot up his side. The medic frowned, his optics dimming in thought.

"You've never been this sensitive before. What's changed?"

"Well, I was able to do more things when I had the other burns. Bee won't let me do _anything_ , so maybe it's the inactivity."

"If that's the case," Wheeljack said with a grin, "then we have the perfect solution. That is, if Aid will let you do it."

First Aid smiled as he rewrapped Sam's bandages. "I believe what you have planned is perfect. Just don't be too rough."

Perceptor trilled in glee. "We get to test it out, 'Jack!"

"Test what out?" Sam asked, bemused at the scientist's excitement.

"We've made some modifications to the holo-matter generators, and we need to test them out. We've tried to make the projections more real, mainly for human benefit. For Cybertronians, the results should be increased sensitivity and control over the forms." Perceptor finished the explanation and looked expectantly at Sam.

"So…how are we going to test that?" Sam asked. He was long used to Perceptor's descriptive explanations.

"Well, we were planning to instigate a wrestling match if you feel up to it," Wheeljack said with a hopeful smile.

Sam's eyes lit up brightly. "Let's do it!" He couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice; he _needed_ to do _something_ , and wrestling seemed like the perfect thing. It would burn off some of his pent-up energy.

Perceptor and Wheeljack sat down, settling comfortably back before offlining their optics. They projected themselves as humans through the modified holo-matter generators, and they stood in front of Sam for inspection.

Perceptor's human form was thin, but muscular with pale skin peppered with freckles. His hair was a coppery-red and his eyes, behind the wire-framed glasses, were a brilliant green. He wore blue jeans and a red t-shirt, which clung to his lean body. Wheeljack's human form was of a slightly wider build with a shade of skin that was close to Sam's old skin color. His hair was a dark black while his eyes were a dark blue. Wheeljack wore blue jeans and a button-up, white and green plaid shirt. As Sam looked them over, he was surprised at the colors of their eyes. Always before, an Autobot's projection had eyes an eerie light blue that matched their optic color.

"You can change your eye color now!" he exclaimed.

"The twins were complaining about it, so I figured out what prevented that," Perceptor replied.

"Why am I not surprised that it was the twins?" Sam snickered.

"Because they're always complaining about stupid slag like that," Hot Rod said dryly. "Now enough talk. I want to see Sam kick your afts!"

Sam chuckled as Perceptor and Wheeljack threw glares over to the young mech before looking back over at the silver boy.

"Are you sure you're up to this? Some of those burns looked very sore," Perceptor asked one last time.

"If it gets to be too much, I'll tell you, okay?" Sam asked, impatient to get started.

"Alright then," Perceptor stated then lunged.

Sam twisted out of the way only to be grabbed from behind by Wheeljack. Perceptor spun around and laughed at Sam's predicament, which caused the boy to growl. His burns were sore, but the soreness was quickly being washed away by the challenge that was presented to him. He used his strength and Wheeljack's own weight against him by jerking him over his head and throwing him into Perceptor. The two 'humans' were up again the second they had footing to do so. Sam laughed wildly and braced himself as they both ran at him again.

They went on like that for an hour and a half, moving with grace and speed that betrayed their alien nature. Sam had just thrown Wheeljack onto Kup's chest, with laughter from everyone, and was turning to face down Perceptor when a hand wrapped around him tightly and he was jerked up off the ground. A surge of pain had him crying out, instinct prompting a surge of electricity to slam into whoever was grabbing him. A yelp sounded out and Sam was dropped. As soon as the boy hit the ground, he ran to Kup, curling an arm around his injured chest as he looked to see who had 'attacked' him. To Sam's surprise, it was Bumblebee who was standing there, gripping the wrist of the hand that had been electrocuted.

"What do you think you're doing?" Bumblebee snapped, glaring at Sam. "You're still hurt."

"I gave him permission. He needs some activity. It helps him heal faster," First Aid explained, trying to soothe the situation.

"I don't give a _damn_ what you say! He's _my_ boy and _I'll_ decide what he's ready for!" Bumblebee snarled at the medic. First Aid's face fell at the harsh words.

"Now just one minute, _boy,_ " Kup said as he stood up, keeping Sam behind him. "What gives you the right to speak to Aid like that?"

"I'm Sam's guardian!" Bumblebee snapped.

"Well, First Aid is _Silverstreak's_ medic!" Kup shot back. "And I'm a higher rank than you are, so you better change your tone!"

"I wouldn't give a frag if you were Prime himself! _Sam_ is _mine_! And no lying bunch of mechs will ever take him from me!"

"We didn't lie!" Hot Rod leaped up to join the fight. "You never _asked_ if he was Sam!"

"But you knew! You knew who he was and you didn't bother to tell us!" Bumblebee growled, optics flashing in raw anger.

"What's going on here?" Optimus asked as he, Ironhide, and Ratchet stepped out of the base.

"Yes, we _knew_ , but Silverstreak didn't want us to tell you! He specifically asked us to keep it a secret!" Cliffjumper hissed back.

"My Sam would never do that! Would you, Sam?" Bumblebee asked turning his angry gaze on his boy.

"Um," Sam muttered. He suddenly felt sick to his stomach.

"You _wouldn't_ , would you?" Bumblebee repeated.

Sam could feel everybody's optics on him as they waited for a reply. He felt overwhelmed suddenly and cried out. "I can't take it anymore! Yes, yes, I did ask them that! Just leave me alone!"

Sam turned and ran through the trees, desperate to get somewhere where he could be alone. He could hear Bumblebee calling after him, asking him to stop, but he ignored it. He needed time to think for himself without others' influence. He ran through the jungle until he came to a clearing. He stopped and dropped down to the ground, leaning against a tree. Silence surrounded him, broken only by the sounds of nature. After a while, Sam took a deep breath—he hadn't realized he'd stopped breathing—and he let his thoughts flow where they wanted. His eyes closed and he stopped breathing again, this time on purpose.

After a few hours, he felt a light, almost nonexistent touch brush across his arm and opened his eyes to see what it was. To his surprise it was William Lennox and Robert Epps, his two old friends. They both started back when they saw his pure blue eyes. Their skittish behavior amused Sam, causing him to chuckle. All the humans were avoiding him since he stopped wearing the hood all the time, except for Lennox and Epps. They truly were trying to accept Sam, but it was difficult for them to look at the boy when they knew he had once been human.

"Er, you weren't breathing," Lennox said after a moment's silence.

"I know. I didn't want to. The smells on this planet are certainly confusing, especially the animal ones. I'm still not quite used to it."

"You don't have to breathe?" Epps asked. "That's weird."

"It was a bit strange when I first found out I didn't have to, but I'm used to it now. Tell me, what do you want?"

They looked at each other before Lennox spoke. "Optimus sent us out to look for you. Said you had some kind of emotional break down or something. He asked us if we would talk to you and see if it was a 'human problem.'"

"Hm, it could be considered that. Or a youngling's problem," Sam mused with a smile.

"Well…" Lennox trailed off.

"It's simple. Bumblebee was crowding me and I couldn't get any time to myself. He also wouldn't let me talk with my other friends simply because they helped hide who I was. I finally get some time with them and he comes and starts demanding that I come back with him and telling me exactly what I would and wouldn't do. It was too much for me to handle at once, so I left."

"You explain it like an Autobot would," Lennox said with a sigh. "I don't understand. What's happened to you? You used to be human. Now you're…different."

Sam felt sad at Lennox's tone. "I know. I haven't been around humans in a while, and I don't really remember how to talk to them. The Autobots have different social behaviors than humans do."

"Different?" Epps asked. "You know, I've always wondered about why they do certain things. Would you mind answering a couple questions?"

"If I am able to, sure," Sam replied, happy to explain his new way of life.

"Well…have you noticed how they make all those strange noises?" Epps asked as he and Lennox sat down.

"Noises? Which ones? The purrs, whines, clicks, whistles? They make many noises. You'll have to clarify."

Epps' eyes were wide. "Um. Just any of them. They seem to tone it down when other humans are around, but when it's just me and Lennox they seem to…open up."

"Well, purrs are usually a sign of contentment, happiness, and comfort. Whines are produced by the vocalizer when they are upset; it's like crying for them, and if it gets to be too much, they can't control it. Clicks and whistles are translated depending on the situation. They can be many things, from inquiries to agreements to just letting each other know that others are there."

Lennox snorted, "Why does it have to be so complicated?"

Sam smiled warmly. "It's not that complicated when you know the language."

"Why do they do it like that?"

"Well," Sam said thoughtfully, "that's just the way their culture developed. Why do humans do some of the things they do?"

That stumped the two men and they fell silent. Sam closed his eyes again, knowing that they would have more questions once they digested the information. Sure enough, after about ten minutes of silence, Lennox looked up.

"I once asked Ironhide why they ate metal. He said something about his weapons?"

Sam opened his eyes and smiled. "They eat metal for more reasons than I do. You see—"

"Hey now. Hold on a second. _You_ eat metal?" Epps asked incredulously.

"Yes. It—"

"Why in the world do you do that?!"

"If you will be quiet, I'll tell you," Sam stated, torn between annoyance and amusement. "Thank you. Now I and other Cybertronians eat metal because it provides certain nutrients to us that energon cannot provide. Even the metals here on Earth are rich in those nutrients. The others need to eat if for another reason as well. I could go into complicated details of why and how, but I'll make it simple. Their bodies make their own ammunition. It's a long and complicated process, but I'm sure Ratchet would be happy to explain it to you. In detail."

"No, that's alright," Epps said quickly.

Sam laughed. "I wouldn't make you go through that torture. Trust me. I had to sit through Ratchet's lecture on a Cybertronian's body a couple weeks before I went to Cybertron. The only reason I didn't have to sit through it with First Aid was that I 'guessed' where everything was and got it right."

Lennox flinched. "He's going to make _us_ sit through it soon. He says we need to know more about their species."

"You let him look over you, didn't you?" Sam asked knowingly.

"Yeah, why?"

"That's why. He learned about you, you learn about them. It's that simple."

"Damn," Lennox growled and palmed his forehead.

"Don't worry. It doesn't get embarrassing until the third day when he teaches you about the spark."

Both of the humans looked at him in shock. "What do you mean?" Epps asked suspiciously.

Sam laughed. "I'll let him tell you that. I didn't have any warning, so I'll let him surprise you."

Lennox and Epps started begging him to tell them, but Sam settled back and listened with amusement. After a while, they gave it up and sat there sulking. Silence rose up around them, broken only by the sounds of nature. Sam listened past the sounds of the two humans to the songs of the birds. It was so peaceful to be away from the Autobots, even with Lennox and Epps there. The two humans started to shift, unable to stay still for very long. Sam sighed and shook his head as he opened his eyes.

"Now I know why the Autobots are always asking us to be still."

"What?" Lennox asked, arching an eyebrow.

Sam shook his head, knowing they wouldn't even realize they'd moved. "Nothing."

Lennox sat still for a moment before standing up and stretching. "We should probably start back to the base. Bee's gonna be worried about you."

Sam felt his eyes dim and a growl slipped out. "I don't want to be around him right now."

"What? Why not?" Epps asked.

"He'll crowd me again," Sam said after a pause.

"That's not all, is it?" Lennox asked, noticing the reluctance boy's tone.

Sam shrugged. "Your point?"

Epps chuckled. "Now this is the Sam I remember. Reluctant to tell you anything about what's really going on in that head of yours."

"Come on now. We were sent out here to talk to you, now talk," Lennox prodded.

Sam sat silent for a minute before looking away from them. "I'm afraid he'll be mad that I didn't want him to know who I was."

"Bumblebee's an understanding mech. Just explain why," Epps said with a smile.

"I-I don't know…" Sam murmured uncertainly. "The look on his face."

"Well, you'll never know until you talk to him. You can do it sooner or later, but if you do it later, you'll just be delaying the inevitable," Lennox stated before adding, "Just like you're doing with the rest of them."

Sam grimaced at the truth of the words. He'd been avoiding talking with Optimus, Ratchet, and Ironhide. Each of them had asked many times to speak with him alone, but he'd mustered up an excuse not to every time. If he were honest with himself, he was afraid of what they'd say to him. He knew that each discussion would be uncomfortable, to say in the least.

Ironhide's would be easiest, he supposed. The black mech would want to talk about how Sam's weapons worked, but the black mech would also have to mention his body, which was what made Sam uncomfortable. Ratchet would be even worse about that. Optimus wouldn't go into details about his body, but he'd probe his mind for the truth, which scared him. Compared to them, Bumblebee would be easiest to talk to.

Sam sighed and stood up with the two humans. "Let's go to my doom."


	28. Misunderstanding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So close to being done with this. For the second time, of course. It has certainly been interesting to go through this story again from such a different perspective. I hope you enjoy this little moment between Bumblebee and Sam, as much as you did the first time.
> 
> Original comments: Hello my lovely peoples! It is I again with another chapter. It is sad, really, but...the idea came out pretty good. If any of y'all have suggestions, I'll be happy to hear them. Please enjoy!
> 
> And again, thanks to my beta, SkyHighFan.

Sam stood behind the trees and watched his guardian's still form stare out over the ocean. Lennox and Epps had gone to tell Optimus they were back and not to disturb Sam or Bumblebee for a while. Bumblebee looked sad and contemplative, his optics staring out at nothing in particular. Sam felt a wave of guilt wash through him; he knew that this was his fault. He'd been standing there for a few minutes, but couldn't seem to get up the nerve to go out there and face his best friend.

Berating himself for his fear, he finally took a deep breath and walked out of his hiding place toward his guardian. The sun made his hair shimmer brightly, catching Bumblebee's optics. The yellow mech turned to look at him, but Sam felt his spark sink when Bumblebee's face remained blank instead of breaking into the smile he was used to seeing.

"Sam," Bumblebee stated before turning back to look at the ocean.

"Hey, Bee," Sam said quietly, walking up to stand next to him. "Um, you got a minute?"

"What do you want? To tell me something else you kept from me? To tell me more lies?"

Sam flinched and looked away. "I'm sorry, Bee."

"Sorry. That's all you can say? You _wanted_ to keep who you were a secret, when I thought you were dead for two years. I mourned for two years for you. You're nothing but a lying ass."

Lowering his head, Sam replied, "I deserve that."

"You deserve a lot more than that. I was happy you were back home, different, but alive. I didn't give a damn that you were different, just that you were you. But I was wrong."

"Wrong?" Sam asked hesitantly.

"Yes. I was dead wrong about you. You're _not_ Sam! The Sam I knew told me everything. He talked to me! You're nothing like that anymore. When I found out who you were, I kept you close and waited for you to talk to me about your life on Cybertron. I waited for you to talk about your changes. I waited for you to tell me about how you felt, but you never did! You kept it all to yourself! I don't know what the hell you went through on my home planet, but whatever it was it changed you. You're not you anymore! You-you're not my Sam!"

Bumblebee's optics flashed in anger and hurt, and he turned away from Sam. The boy lowered his head and whimpered, sinking to his knees. Had he caused his best friend to turn away from him? Was he really acting so different? Warm, wet tears slipped out of his eyes and down his face as a long whine slipped past his lips.

He couldn't lose Bumblebee. He just couldn't. The mech had been his best friend for years, always listening and understanding, never judging him for his mistakes. Sam's breathing was ragged as he pressed into Bumblebee's side, rubbing and nuzzling the metal and crooning. It wasn't human, he knew, but he couldn't remember what he would do in this situation if he were human. Bumblebee remained cold to him, ignoring him completely. Sam pulled back and sobbed.

"I-I'm sorry, Bee! P-please," Sam gasped.

Bumblebee shook his head and stood up. Without even looking at the crying boy, he turned and walked away silently. Sam watched him go, unable to move or call out. When the yellow mech was out of sight, Sam trembled and collapsed onto the ground. Great, heaving sobs left his body as he broke down completely. When his tears were spent, he just lay there on the ground curled under his cloak. That's how Blaster found him around midnight. The red mech gently picked Sam up, cradling him to his chest. Blaster carried him inside while gently stroking Sam's back. Exhausted by everything, the boy fell asleep in the gentle metal hands.

Weeks later, Kup looked over at Sam. The boy hadn't spoken to anybody since his confrontation with his guardian. He wouldn't eat, wouldn't drink, and he was getting weaker every day. The worst part was that they couldn't do anything about it. None of them even knew why Sam was like this, except that it had something to do with Bumblebee. The yellow mech wasn't talking either. In fact, he was ignoring Sam as completely as he was ignoring Kup's team.

The green mech sighed and hung his head. He was afraid for Sam. A hand pressed against his shoulder, and Kup looked behind him to see Optimus. The Autobot leader was staring at Sam.

"Has he still not eaten? Talked?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all," Kup said sadly.

Optimus sighed, and turned away. "I don't want to have to, but I guess I have no choice."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to order Bee to tell me what happened. We need to know why he's acting like this."

"Hm. Optimus?"

"Yes?"

"Please hurry. I'm afraid Silverstreak might try something otherwise."

An hour later, Optimus stared at Bumblebee in disbelief. He palmed his forehead and took in a deep breath to calm his frazzled nerves. He could not believe what had just come out of his yellow soldier's vocalizer. He looked plaintively at Bumblebee.

"How could you do that to Sam?"

"He's not my Sam," Bumblebee said quietly.

"Yes, he is, and he _needs_ you," Optimus admonished.

"No, he doesn't."

"You haven't seen him lately, have you?"

"No. Why?" Bumblebee couldn't help a little worry slipping into his voice.

"Come with me."

Bumblebee was met with glares as he entered the room. He ignored them and looked around the room for Sam. His optics fell on the figure huddled in the corner, and he gasped. Sam's entire body, save for his head, was covered by his cloak. The boy's face was drawn and his optics were dim, staring at the floor. He wasn't moving, and didn't even glance up when Bumblebee called his name. The yellow mech felt a bit sick when he saw just what he had done to his charge. He was grabbed and spun around only to meet an angry pair of blue optics.

"Look at what you've done to him!" First Aid snarled.

"I-I didn't know," Bumblebee said, taking a step back.

The medic growled, "He won't eat. He barely sleeps. All he does is sit there! How could you do this to him? He's just a youngling!"

Bumblebee didn't reply, instead pushing past the others and kneeling down to pick up Sam. Sam didn't even respond to the touch. The yellow mech felt a twinge of guilt as he cradled the boy to his chest and hurried out of the room, past growls and snarls. Bumblebee stopped long enough to grab an energon cube before hurrying outside and finding a nice, secluded spot. The yellow mech set down the energon cube, holding Sam gently ask he sat down and projected himself with the modified holo-matter generator that Ratchet had forcefully upgraded in him. Bumblebee's human form was slightly taller than Sam with slightly tanned skin. His hair was bright blonde, cut neatly, but arranged messily, while his eyes were blue as the sky. He wore jeans and a black and yellow striped t-shirt that fit loosely around his body.

"Sam, drink," Bumblebee commanded, holding Sam up to the cube.

When Sam did nothing, Bumblebee snarled and a metal cup materialized in his hand. He filled it with energon before sitting down against his own leg, which felt rather odd, cradling Sam against his holo-form's chest. He placed the cup in front of Sam's lips.

"Drink," he commanded again, tilting the cup.

Sam gasped and coughed as energon soaked his face, cloak, and chest. He opened his mouth and automatically drank to stop from being covered by the liquid energy. He swallowed and the zing of relief that shot through his body made him sigh in delight. He drank the cup dry then Bumblebee filled it again, and set it against his lips. This time he drank willingly, slowly, but willingly. It felt wonderful to have energy flowing through his system again. Bumblebee continued to feed him until he couldn't hold anymore. He turned his face away from the proffered cup, nuzzling Bumblebee's neck.

"Sam," Bumblebee said warningly.

"No more," Sam murmured.

Bumblebee nodded, his real body drinking the remaining energon before setting the cube down out of the way. He looked at Sam, unable to help smiling softly. The boy's metal skin was stained with pink. Bumblebee took Sam's black cloak off and his holo-form walked over to a river, dipping the metal into the water. Once the cloak was clean, Bumblebee used it to scoop up some water and carried it back over to Sam. He gently washed the energon off of the boy, smiling as Sam shivered at the chilly water.

"Hold still now," Bumblebee laughed softly. "I'm almost done."

"Bee," Sam whimpered. "I-I tried, but I can't remember how."

"Remember how to what?" Bumblebee asked as he finished cleaning the boy.

"How to act human. I know that's what you want, but I can't remember!" Sam suddenly clutched onto the holo-form.

"What? You don't have to act human! What gave you that idea?"

"Y-you told me that you wanted me to be like I was. You know, when I was human," Sam muttered.

"No, I didn't! Oh, Sam, is that what you were doing that whole time? Trying to remember how to be human?"

Sam nodded. "I-I thought that was what you wanted."

"No! I just want you to talk to me. We used to talk and have fun together, that's what I was saying. That's what I want now. For _us_ to be like we used to. Not _you_ to be like you used to!"

"Oh," Sam muttered softly suddenly feeling embarrassed. "I, er…"

Bumblebee stared down at Sam and laughed. "I can't stay mad at you, Sam. You're just so…you! What with all your silly mistakes and assumptions." Sam felt his face warm at the words, but Bumblebee wasn't done yet. "Yet, you learn from them, most of the time. You're smart, intuitive, and wiser than most humans your age."

"I am?" Sam asked, pushing himself up to look at Bumblebee's metallic face.

"Yes. And I wouldn't have you any other way, my friend. You're the most amazing thing in the universe."

Sam smiled and hugged Bumblebee's holo-form. "I'm not nearly as amazing as you."

Bumblebee chuckled and held Sam an arm's length away from his body to look him over. "You know, you look different from this angle."

Sam shifted under the intense gaze. "I do?"

"Of course. You know, whatever happened to you sure made you more attractive. At least by Cybertronian standards."

Sam bit his bottom lip and looked at Bumblebee. He wasn't sure if he could tell the mech about his other big secret, but…Bumblebee had always listened to him. If any mech would understand and believe him, Bumblebee would.

"Um, Bee. There's something else that I haven't told you. That I haven't told anyone, really."

"Oh?" Bumblebee asked.

"Well…if I tell you, I don't really want you to tell anybody else. It's kinda weird and they'd think I'm crazy."

"What is it?"

Sam suddenly found himself at a loss for words. How could he tell his guardian that he had easy contact with the Primes? The mech would think he was insane! Wouldn't he? Maybe it would be easier to just show him. He blinked and sent a thought to Stellar and Vector.

_"Yes?"_ Vector asked as they both appeared.

_"Is it possible for me to get anyone else into that dream world I go to?"_

_"Yes it is,"_ Stellar said dreamily.

_"How?"_

_"Well first you must trust them. Then you fall asleep together and pull his mind in with you,"_ Stellar smiled down at Sam.

_"How the pit am I supposed to do that?"_

_"It's not that hard. You basically just touch him and fall asleep and you'll take him with you,"_ Vector said, amused.

_"But…I've touched a lot of mechs and fallen asleep. Why would it work this time?"_

" _Because you want him to be in your dreams. Oh, and one more thing,"_ Vector said with a smile. _"Bumblebee's been trying to get your attention for the past couple minutes."_

Sam gasped. "I-I'm sorry, Bee!"

Bumblebee looked annoyed and amused. "Are you going to tell me or not?"

"It'd be easier to show you," Sam said nervously.

"Then show me."

"I need you to offline your optics and relax."

"Alright," Bumblebee said with a bemused smile.

The yellow mech leaned back against the tree and did as Sam requested. Sam slipped off the holo-form's lap and pressed against his guardian's real body. It was easy to descend into slumber, as he was so tired. To his delight, he felt something following him down. When he opened his eyes in the dream world, he squealed. Bumblebee had come with him and was now looking around him in confusion.

"Sam? Where…are we?" Bumblebee asked warily.

"We're in my dream," Sam replied happily. "Boy, I didn't think it would actually work."

"Your…dream," Bumblebee repeated.

"Yeah. Why?" Sam asked looking up at his guardian.

"Little one, he isn't used to it as you are," the amused voice of Aqueous said.

Bumblebee spun around at the voice and gasped. He stared at the gathered Primes in disbelief. He took a few steps back and looked at Sam.

"What's going on? How are they in your dreams?"

"Well…you know that thing I wanted to show you? This is it. The Primes are the ones who changed me, made me metal. I come here every time I sleep. I can talk to them any time I want or need to."

"I've never seen them," Bumblebee said weakly.

"I'm the only one who can see them outside of my dreams. And inside my dreams, as a matter of fact…Unless somebody else is here."

"So, you're Bumblebee," Prima said with a gentle smile.

"Um, yes," Bumblebee muttered.

"Don't be afraid, young one. We're not going to harm you. It is very nice to finally meet you face to face. Sam has told us many good things about you," Prima smiled. "I do believe that you already know all our names."

Bumblebee nodded. "So…you're the ones who saved Sam?"

"Yes, and sometimes I wish we hadn't," Pyro said with a fond smile and picked up the boy.

"Oh, Pyro. You know you love him," Aqueous said, playfully punching the fiery mech and taking Sam away from him.

"Hey! Give him back!"

Pyro and Aqueous started to fight over Sam. Bumblebee felt the protective instinct that came with being a guardian flare up. He moved forward and lashed out quickly, striking Pyro in the chest. As the flame-patterned mech fell, he swept Aqueous's feet out from under him, grabbing his boy as the mech went down hard. He drew away from the Primes, holding Sam close to his chest and glaring at the mechs who were 'attacking' his boy. The Primes stared at Bumblebee for a moment before they burst out laughing.

"You've got some good moves, boy," Pyro chuckled as he stood up.

"Tell me, who trained you?" Nova asked, helping Aqueous up.

"Optimus and Ironhide," Bumblebee replied, still wary of them.

"Hey, Bee," Sam said softly.

"Hm?" Bumblebee asked, glancing down at his boy.

"Calm down. They aren't going to hurt me. Okay?"

Bumblebee smiled sheepishly. "Heh, okay." He paused. "So, you've been in contact with the Primes for how long?"

"Almost two years," Sam replied with a warm smile. "It's been fun. They've taught me so much about your culture, both ancient and modern. They're also the ones that taught me about your social structure. You know, the noises and touches."

"You taught him all that?" Bumblebee asked curiously.

"Of course. He was living up on Cybertron. We had to teach him how they live, as you and the other Autobots didn't," Telluric answered.

"We did, too! At least to a certain extent," Bumblebee said indignantly.

"Yes, but he needed intimate knowledge of how our kind interact. It wouldn't really be fair to let him wander around not knowing how to react to certain things," Beta said with a smile.

"Well, I can't really argue with that," Bumblebee muttered. He suddenly looked thoughtful. "Why am I not freaking out?"

"What?" Sam asked before laughing. "Oh, that one's easy. They won't let you."

"How can they not let me?"

Sam shrugged. "They control the emotions in here, to an extent. Right now, they're exuding a calming aura so that you'll be comfortable in your new surroundings."

"That's pretty smart," Bumblebee admitted.

"Yeah. They do things like that all the time," Sam agreed.

"Is there anything else I should know?"

Sam laughed. "Yes. Beware of Rodimus. He's wild."

"Ah. I'll bear that in mind."

"Are we just going to stand around here talking, or are we gonna have some fun?" Rodimus asked with a pout.

"Oh, keep your cool, Rodimus. Let the mech get comfortable with this first. Then we'll play some games," Metallon snickered.

"Oh! Fine! But can we skip the conversation you wanted to have with them? Huh, Prima? Can we?" Rodimus asked his leader.

"No. We're going to help them talk this out," Prima replied sternly.

"Talk what out?" Sam asked warily.

"This problem between you two," Beta said.

"But there's no problem anymore. We talked it out already," Bumblebee said, confusion filling his face.

"Oh no you haven't. You might not be mad at him anymore, but you're still hurt at what he did, or didn't do, as it were."

"I'll be fine," Bumblebee sighed.

Sam looked up at Bumblebee's face. "I have to agree with Prima. If you're still hurt, then I want to fix it. What do you want to know."

"Well," Bumblebee said with a small smile. "I'd like to know about your stay on Cybertron. Please?"

"Alright then," Sam replied with a grin. "It started with that battle…"


	29. Ratchet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was divided into three, one for each of the original Autobots that haven't been conversed with yet.
> 
> Original comments: I know it's been a long wait, but I don't want this story to end. I'm writing one more chapter for this story, dearies. One more. Then I'm taking a break to work on my other fics. Then I'll start on the sequel. I'm not going to give you much info about it yet, but I think it'll be good.
> 
> I have a request for it, too. I'm going to need femmes. I got Firestar, Moonracer, Elita One, and Chromia. I need more. If any of you guys have femmes you want used in my next story I'll need their name, physical description, personality, Cybertronian alt mode, and the car you'll want them to be when they get to Earth. If you don't give me the info, I'll make it up, unless you'd want me to clear it with you first. In addition to the femmes, if you guys have anything specific you want to happen, tell me.
> 
> Thanks to my beta, SkyHighFan. And everybody enjoy.

Sam shifted, already feeling uncomfortable about doing what he was about to do while Ratchet locked the door. The green medic smiled warmly as he projected himself in front of the shy boy. Sam was suddenly staring up at a miniature version of Ratchet's robotic form. He found himself grateful for that; he could never reveal his body to a human. Sam had actually never taken his cloak off in front of humans, not even Robert and William. Ratchet pressed his hand against the nervous boy's shoulder.

"You sure you're ready for this? We can wait."

"I promised you that you could. Besides that, I've been avoiding you. It's only fair."

"But—" Ratchet started.

"Look, I'm as ready as I'll ever be, okay?"

"Alright. I'll need you to disrobe."

Sam swallowed hard and closed his eyes, pretending he was in front of First Aid instead of Ratchet. With that thought in mind, he slid the cloak from his shoulders and pulled his shorts down. There was an immediate hum of interest from the medic, and gentle hands pushed him to sit down. If there was one thing that Sam could tell was different about First Aid and Ratchet, it was that the green medic was so much gentler. The hands that touched him also held more knowledge than the red and white mech's.

"Amazing," Ratchet murmured with a soft trill at the end of the word. "I've never seen anything like it in my entire life!"

Sam blushed, but looked into Ratchet's eager optics. "Ratchet?"

"Yes?" the green medic asked, his optics intently studying Sam's form.

"Am…am I a freak?"

Ratchet's optics dashed up to meet Sam's eyes, his body starting in surprise as he asked, "What?"

"N-never mind. I already knew I was. Stupid question."

"Samuel James Witwicky! You are many things, but you are _not_ a freak! You are different, but that doesn't mean 'freak.' You are my friend, and that is enough for me, and should be enough for everybody else. Your body's shape or composition doesn't matter. You are Sam, and that's _all_ that matters."

Sam was surprised at the intensity of Ratchet's words, but a thread of doubt was still wriggling in his mind. "Do-do you really mean that?" he asked uncertainly.

Ratchet's optics softened and a croon came from his vocalizer. "Yes, Sam. I really do."

"But—"

"No," Ratchet said suddenly. "Optimus is the one that speaks to you first. Bumblebee, as he is your guardian, was the only exception. We can all talk to you once Prime is done."

"Why?"

Ratchet shrugged as he went back to taking readings about Sam again. "He's our leader. It's his job to talk to us, I suppose."

Sam went silent, wondering about what it was Optimus wanted to talk about. Knowing the Autobot leader, it wouldn't be an easy topic of conversation. The time spent with Ratchet went too quickly for Sam's liking after the initial nervousness wore off. He was more nervous about his talk with Optimus than his talk with Ironhide, whom he planned to visit next. Ratchet kindly smiled at him when he was done, and Sam pulled his shorts on with a distracted air. His cloak followed, and he pulled his hair out to hang behind his back. Ratchet had an odd look on his face.

"Something wrong, Ratchet?" Sam asked.

"No, nothing's wrong," Ratchet replied, but was still eying the boy.

"Well then why are you staring at me like that?" Sam asked, annoyed.

"Can I touch your hair?" the medic blurted out.

"What?" Sam was immensely surprised at the question.

"I want to touch your hair," Ratchet repeated, his optics lingering on the shimmering metal.

"Um, sure," the boy replied, his lips twitching in amusement.

Ratchet's holo-form appeared behind Sam and ran his hands down it. He clicked in surprise and ran his fingers through it. Sam chuckled at Ratchet's surprised and delighted expression.

"It's so soft...so supple and smooth. Are you sure it's metal?"

"Yeah. I'm sure," Sam couldn't keep the laughter out of his voice.

Ratchet took a handful and nuzzled his face into it, actually purring at the feeling. The medic spent several minutes just touching and petting Sam's hair. Finally, Ratchet reluctantly pulled away.

"Well, you better get going. 'Hide's waiting for you."

"Okay. Hey Ratch?" Sam asked.

"Yes, Samuel?"

"You know First Aid, right?"

"Yes. He's the medic that came with you. Why?"

"Well, he really looks up to you, and I was wondering if you would spend some time with him. It'd make him happy."

Ratchet smiled and chuckled. "Alright, I will. Now get going!"


	30. Ironhide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No original comments. Just a whole lotta Ironhide.

Sam stared nervously at Ironhide. He wasn't sure what the black mech would do, and Ratchet wouldn't tell him. The silver boy finally sighed and walked out to greet the mech. His 'hey' turned into a surprised yelp when Ironhide turned around and shot at him.

"What the frag?" Sam yelled in Cybertronian, automatically bringing his shield up.

Ironhide didn't reply, instead firing again. Sam stopped talking and continued his defensive maneuvers, not wanting to hurt the black mech. After an hour and a half, however, the silver boy was getting annoyed and a bit tired. He cleverly dodged another attack before diving behind a tree. Ironhide hadn't said a word the entire time. Sam snarled as he heard the weapons specialist move towards him.

"Slag it, 'Hide! Don't make me hurt you!" Sam called out.

His shout was ignored and another shot sounded out. Anger flared through Sam as he dove aside before turning around to face Ironhide. He leaped at the black mech, slamming into Ironhide's chest with nearly crushing force. As the weapons specialist moved his gun towards Sam, the boy send painful bolts of electricity through the mech. Ironhide hit the ground hard and didn't move. Sam jumped over to Ironhide's arm and pulled the wires that allowed the mech's hand to change into a gun. The weapon changed back into a hand, and Sam moved to do the same to the other arm.

When he was done with that, he sat down under a tree and calmly waited for the black mech to online. Ironhide came online with a groan, sitting up and looking around in confusion. His gaze settled on Sam, and the mech's hand leaped up to his chest.

"Nice hit," Ironhide commented casually.

"What were you doing?" Sam asked, his voice warm with anger.

"Testing your reaction time and battle skills," came the calm reply.

The calm words fanned the flames of his temper higher. "How dare you?" he hissed. "A little warning would have been great!"

"Watch your glossa boy!" Ironhide growled, his voice low and dangerous.

Sam flushed and lowered his eyes. "I'm sorry. You…scared me."

Ironhide sighed, a little surprised at the abrupt mood change. "It's alright, Sam, but I couldn't warn you. You'd have been expecting it, and that defeats the purpose."

"What's the purpose?" Sam had gone from angry to embarrassed to curious in seconds.

"Well," Ironhide said, reminding himself that intense mood swings were natural for younglings. "I've already told you that."

"Oh, right…sorry," Sam muttered, looking sheepish.

Ironhide chuckled, reaching over to gently pet the boy. "Don't worry about it, youngling."

Sam sat quietly for a moment before getting up and hesitantly moving over to snuggle against Ironhide's side. The black mech suddenly looked uncomfortable, glancing around nervously. Sam felt hurt at Ironhide's behavior and stood up to move away, but the weapons' specialist caught him up and nuzzled him.

"I'm sorry, little one. I just don't want the humans to think I'm weak," Ironhide admitted quietly, his voice sounding embarrassed.

Sam chirped happily, nuzzling the warm metal. "No human would ever think you're weak, 'Hide. You just aren't, no matter if you're kind-sparked."

Ironhide smiled happily and looked pleased. "Really?"

"Really," Sam affirmed with a grin then frowned. "'Hide? Am I a freak?"

"What? No!" Ironhide exclaimed, pulling the boy back to look at him. "You're different, so what?"

Sam shrugged. "It's just—" he started.

"No," Ironhide interrupted.

"Let me guess," Sam grumbled. "Optimus has to talk to me first."

"I take it you had the same conversation with Ratchet?"

"Yep."

"Well, you're right. I can't talk anything but weapons and maneuvers with you."

"Frag it!" Sam snarled, crossing his arms. He noticed Ironhide's optics lingering on his hair. "Let me guess. You want to touch my hair?"

Ironhide looked surprised. "Um, yeah. How did you know."

"Ratchet wanted to, too," Sam chuckled. "Go on. I don't mind."

Ironhide appeared behind him, as Ratchet had, but, unlike the medic, wasn't hesitant with his touches. The rough hands surprised him a bit, but Sam quickly relaxed and let Ironhide marvel at the strangely soft strands of metal that was his hair. The silver boy lost track of time as he sat in the black mech's lap with hands stroking his hair. Ironhide finally sighed and brought Sam back to reality.

"Optimus is waiting," Ironhide grumbled. "I'll have exercises to help strengthen your weak areas ready by tomorrow."

"Okay," Sam said with a smile then paused. "Hey, 'Hide?"

"Yeah?"

"You know that red mech that came with us? The weapons' specialist for Kup's team."

"Yeah, Cliffhopper or something like that," Ironhide replied. "Why?"

"Cliffjumper," Sam corrected. "Well, you're his role model, and he's a bit shy around you, so I was wondering if you would go and spend some time with him."

Ironhide looked thoughtful. "Well, I could teach him a thing or two. Sure, why not?"

"Awesome," Sam said with a smile. "But go easy on him. He really looks up to you."

"No promises," Ironhide chuckled then a funny look came over his face and he looked down at his wrists. "Did you...disarm me?"

Sam smirked and nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

Ironhide looked at Sam, an impressed expression coming over his features. "Not even Bee thought of that, and he was one of my cleverest students."

"I can fix them if you want," Sam volunteered.

"Nah, you go and meet Optimus. I'll just go to Ratchet. He's probably eager to talk about his findings about you anyways," Ironhide said with a chuckle. "Go on. Shoo. Best not to keep him waiting. And good luck."


	31. Optimus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No original comments. But I enjoy this chapter immensely.

Sam wasn't quite sure why, but he just couldn't work up enough courage to go out there and meet Optimus. Something about the upcoming conversation filled him with dread, and he couldn't move his feet another inch. He swallowed and tried to take another step, but again found he couldn't move. He was just about to give up and flee away from the red and blue mech when a gentle hand on his shoulder pushed him forward. Sam yelped as he was led towards Optimus with a hand wrapped firmly around his upper arm. He turned to see who was making him go, and was surprised to see the Autobot leader's robotic holo-form.

"Did you honestly think I couldn't sense you?" Optimus asked in amusement, his optics twinkling.

Sam blushed and looked down, shrugging. "I don't know," he muttered.

Optimus' holo-form helped him up onto his real lap before disappearing. "Why are you so nervous? Are you scared of me?"

"No," Sam answered to quickly and flinched at the sharp way Optimus looked at him.

"Don't lie to me, Samuel. That's one thing I won't stand," Optimus said in a serious voice.

"Well, I guess I am a little afraid," Sam said in a small voice, unable to look the red and blue mech in the face.

"Why? Have I ever given you reason to fear me?"

"No."

"Then why are you frightened?"

"I…don't know. I guess it's because it feels like you're looking at my spark. I'm afraid that you won't like what you see there."

Optimus chuckled, causing Sam to look up in surprise. "I'm a Prime, Sam. I can't help that I see more than meets the eye."

Sam shivered. "Well, could ya maybe tone it down a bit?"

"I shall try. Now, talk."

"About what?"

"Anything."

"Um, okay. Am I a freak?" Sam asked, saying the first thing that popped into his mind.

"No, you aren't," Optimus replied. "Different isn't necessarily a bad thing."

"How can you say that?" Sam exclaimed. "Look at me! I'm made of _metal!_ I'm not supposed to be! I'm…I was human! Now look at me! I'm a fragging monster!"

Optimus patiently listened as Sam vented his frustration and anger before responding. "You are indeed made of metal, but I see nothing wrong about it. You were human, and now you're not, but that doesn't matter. I see you, and I don't care that you're different. You are no monster, you are Sam."

Sam felt tears trailing down his cheeks. "How can you say that?"

"I say it because it's true. You're my friend, and that's all that matters."

"You don't feel any different about me?" Sam asked, his voice cracking under the strain of his emotions.

"No. I have been to hundreds of planets, and each planet was different. Different creatures, different balances of nature, different customs. You are not a freak. Not to any Cybertronian with sense."

"But my own race—"

"Your people are a young people. They have a very rigid social structure, unlike Cybertron. If you don't fit their standards, they push you away. Except for a select few, such as Robert and William. They are both exceptions to that rule."

Sam nodded, wiping at his tears. "They still in therapy?"

"Therapy?" Optimus asked curiously.

"Yeah. You didn't know?" Sam was surprised. "I thought you read everybody's files?"

"Only the new recruits. William and Robert were with us before I had their files, and I see no reason for an invasion of their privacy. They are good friends. But I am curious. They were in therapy?"

Sam chuckled. "Yeah. They told me they kept looking at all electrical objects as if they'd transform. I guess it was unnerving."

"And you didn't take therapy?" Optimus asked.

"No. Why?"

"You are an extraordinary being, Sam," Optimus said with a warm smile. "You had the mental capacity to take aliens being here, but two adults didn't."

"Kids and teens are supposed to have more open minds," Sam said with a shrug.

"Mikaela took therapy, did she not?" Optimus asked. "And Leo, too, when he found out about us?"

"Well...yeah," Sam admitted.

"So far, you are the only one who hasn't taken therapy because of us."

"I don't like people poking around in my head," Sam muttered crossly.

"Which is one reason you didn't want this conversation?" Optimus asked.

Sam shrugged. "Yeah. So what?"

"Nothing," Optimus chuckled. He lowered his hand, and Sam saw a small pile of metal. "Would you like some? Kup mentioned you needed some in your diet."

Sam nodded eagerly and took a few pieces. He curiously sniffed a piece, detecting the sharp smell of copper, the less noticeable scent of platinum, and just a hint of silver. He bit into the tasty morsel, sighing as it nearly melted in his mouth. The copper was sweet, the platinum was a dash of sharp spice, and the silver was tangy and rounded out the flavor nicely. He found himself purring at the flavor, and quickly stopped, glancing up at Optimus to see his reaction. The Autobot leader was looking at him, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"You must really enjoy it," Optimus commented.

Sam swallowed. "Yeah. It's still strange to eat it, though."

"I can only imagine. Tell me, do you like energon?"

Sam smiled and relaxed as he talked to the Prime. They spoke about both serious and trivial things, but the conversation was enjoyable and informative to both of them. Sam noticed how nice it was to have a talk where somebody wasn't asking stupid questions about him. To Sam's amusement, halfway through their conversation, Optimus wanted to touch his hair as Ironhide and Ratchet had. The boy let him, and spent the rest of their time together being pet by gentle hands. They stopped talking and just watched as the sun started to set, Sam marveling at the rainbow of colors that streaked the sky.

"You know, I really missed the sun and moon," Sam said with a sigh, snuggling into Optimus' warm body.

"Mm, yes. They are a marvelous sight. It's a pity that Cybertron has no such things."

"Yeah. No wonder your optics glow. They're the brightest light there when your outside," Sam said teasingly.

"Sam!" Optimus laughed.

"What?" Sam asked innocently.

Optimus shook his head and stroked Sam's head again. "You still scared of me?"

"Nah," Sam sighed. "I don't know what I was worried about. I should have known you'd make sure I was okay."

"I take care of my soldiers," Optimus said with a smile. "I always have, and I always will."

"I'm glad for that," Sam said softly, and was about to say more when there was a call.

"Hey, Optimus? Sam still with you?"

Sam peeked over to see Will and Robert hurrying over. They looked a bit uncomfortable as they stopped beside Optimus and peered up at Sam. The metal boy blinked and tilted his head questioningly.

"Yes?"

"Well…" Robert said uncertainly.

"You see…" Will wasn't having much luck either.

"What is it?" Sam asked impatiently. Optimus pet his back soothingly, instantly calming him.

"It's your parents. And Mikaela and Leo. They're all here," Will finally said.

 


	32. Never Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was divided into two.
> 
> Original comments: Hey peoples. Last chapter. *sighs* I never wanted it to end. There will be a sequel folks. I don't know when, but there will be. Thanks to everybody who stayed with me this far and for everybody who gave me ideas for this. 'Specially the femmes. If anybody has any more femmes, I'll use them.

Sam just stared down at Will and Robert, soaking in the news. His spark started beating erratically and Optimus, sensing the change, crooned comfortingly, drawing his fingers gently down the boy's back. The red and blue mech paused at the looks that the two humans gave him.

"Is something the matter?" Optimus asked curiously.

"I wouldn't say anything's the 'matter'," Will said, looking awkward. "But...well, Sam explained some of the noises you guys make to us a while back, and we're a bit curious about the other things you do."

Optimus nodded and clicked. "Ah. If you were curious why didn't you just ask us?"

"We thought you wouldn't answer us," Robert admitted after a moment.

"Hmm. A few years ago we wouldn't have. But you are our close friends now, and I think you could handle knowing more about our culture. Ask us your questions later when we don't have other obligations."

Sam felt a soft smile curl his lips up at the edges. They looked like children who had been told Christmas came early. The questions would be interesting to say in the least. Optimus resumed stroking Sam's back and looked back out over the ocean, tinted a deep red from the setting sun. Sam lowered his head and sighed.

"I don't want to see them," he muttered softly.

"Let me go talk to them first," Optimus offered. "I'll explain the situation."

"We'll go with you," Will said as the Prime stood up.

Sam slid to the ground and watched them walk towards the base. He let out a sigh and twirled a few strands of his hair around his finger in a nervous gesture. If he were honest with himself he hadn't really thought about his parents, Mikaela, or Leo in nearly a year and a half, and he felt a bit guilty. They had been a big part of his life before his change, yet he forgot about them so easily in the excitement of his new life. He sighed again and ran a hand through his hair, which was glittering in the silver light of the full moon rising in the sky. Looking up at the sky, he noticed just how many stars he could see. They were beautiful sparks of light in the sky, announcing the presence of life. He smiled, unable to help himself.

"Sam?" a soft voice asked. Sam spun around, his peace forgotten as when he saw two humans he hadn't seen in years.

"Mikaela! L-Leo!" he exclaimed as he jerked his hood up to cover his face.

"Man, they said you were metal, but I didn't believe them," Leo murmured in awe, his dark brown eyes bright with curiosity.

"Sam?" Mikaela asked again her smile widening. "Y-you're alive!" She ran up and embraced him, laughing wildly and knocking his hood off on the force of impact. "We all thought you were dead, but you're alive!"

"Hey! Easy!" Sam laughed, forgetting about being metal in her excitement.

He pushed her away gently, wrapping his silver hands around hers and froze. He lifted her left hand up to see a gold ring glinting in the light of his blue eyes. Leo pulled Mikaela back away from him and held her close.

"Like she said, man. We-we thought you were dead," Leo mumbled.

"You two are married?" he asked, swallowing hard.

"I'm sorry, Sam," Mikaela murmured.

Sam turned around and took a deep breath. It was a shock, but he tried to reason with himself. It wouldn't even work between them anymore. He was metal, she was of flesh. She needed to be with another human, which he most certainly wasn't anymore. A gentle hand was pressed on his shoulder, making him turn. He could feel tears slipping out of his eyes, but he couldn't help it. It still hurt, no matter how logical it was. Mikaela hugged him, and Sam leaned into her, not caring if Leo was staring at them. He shuddered and pulled back after a few minutes, wiping his tears away.

"I hope you're happy," he said with a crooked smile. "Both of you."

"Thanks, man," Leo said with a smile. "But enough about us. We wanna talk about you!"

Sam shook away the thoughts of Mikaela and Leo being married and shrugged. "What do you want to know?"

"First take off this," Mikaela demanded, jerking on the cloak.

"Jeez, you're pushy as ever," Sam joked.

For some reason, he didn't feel shy about removing his cloak in front of them. It just didn't faze him at all. He easily undid the clasp and it fell to the ground. Both of the humans stared at his silver skin in amazement, before reaching out to hesitantly touch it.

"I'm not going to bite you," Sam chuckled. Their touches became bolder.

"It really is metal!" Leo exclaimed with a laugh.

"Of course! What, did you think I was just spray painted like this?"

After looking him over, they had question after question about his stay on Cybertron, which Sam answered gladly. He was surprised to find how normal this felt. They didn't treat him any differently than they would have if he were human. After a while, a thought occurred to him of why that was.

"Let me ask you a couple of questions," he said before they could shoot another off.

"Okay," Mikaela replied. "What do you want to know?"

"Aw man, is it about our sex life?" Leo groaned.

"Leo!" Mikaela shrieked in embarrassment.

"No, it's not about that. It's…First off, why are you here and not my parents and the Autobots?"

"Eh, we kinda snuck away while they were talking," Leo said with a shrug.

"Ah. Second of all, what did you hear them say about me?"

"We only heard them say you were made of metal," Mikaela replied then stopped. "Is something wrong?"

Sam was looking at the ground, a soft sigh escaping his lips. They didn't know about his new thinking processes, his weapon, his strength, or his speed. That's why they weren't afraid of him. They thought he was a metal human and nothing more.

"I wish you'd have stayed," he finally sighed.

"Why?" Mikaela asked.

"Because I—"

"Samuel James Witwicky!" a male voice barked.

"I didn't do it!" Sam yelped as he jumped up, turning and expecting to see Optimus' or Kup's accusing optics.

Instead he saw the frightened eyes of his parents. All movement ceased. Sam became acutely aware of not having his cloak to cover his body, but he didn't dare move to get it. His parents stared at him for about a minute before a yell broke the silence.

"Ron! Judy! Where are you?" Will shouted.

Ron moved first, blinking slowly before outright glaring at Sam. "No. There's no way in hell."

"I-I can't do this anymore, Ron!" Judy gasped.

"Neither can I!" Ron shouted. There was the sound of human feet running towards them. "I'm sick of all this alien shit! No more!"

"Dad, please," Sam whispered, reaching out.

"No! You are _not_ my son!"

Those words echoed in Sam's ears during the ringing silence that followed. Robert and Will were frozen several yards away. Mikaela and Leo were staring at Sam.

"D-dad?"

"No! I can't stand being part of this anymore! Look at what it's done to you! I won't let it happen to us! I never want to see you again!" Ron's voice held finality.

"M-mom?" Sam asked, turning to look at his mother.

"No," she whispered, refusing to look at him. "Just no."

"There they are!" Sideswipe's deep voice made Sam aware that Autobots were approaching.

"You shouldn't have wandered off Mikaela!" Jolt said with an affectionate smile.

"Sam?" Bumblebee asked, noticing the look in the boy's eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Silverstreak," Sam whispered.

"What?" Bumblebee asked surprised. "Sam what's the matter?"

"My name is Silverstreak!" Sam bellowed spinning around to face him, electricity snapping in his fingers. "I never want to be called by that fragging Earth name again! _ever!_ "

Bumblebee was taken aback at the raw hurt burning in his charge's optics. "But Sam…"

"No!" Sam shouted, electricity arching out to slam into Bumblebee. "Never again!"

The yellow mech went down hard, gasping as energon oozed out of a hole on his chest. He looked up at his boy with a soft whine of pain and confusion. The hurt in the deep blue optics sent the silver boy running back into the forest. As he wrapped his body in his cloak, which he'd snatched from the ground, he ran as fast as he could, tearing violently through the trees until he collapsed. Ghostly hands traced his body, fingers gently stroking his hair. He spun around and batted them away.

"Leave me alone!" he growled, tears burning his eyes and whines slipping unintentionally from his vocalizer.

"No," Beta whispered. "Talk to us, Sam."

"No. Never again. I'm Silverstreak. I have no need for an Earthen name now."

"What about your friends?" Telluric asked.

"They can call me Silverstreak," the silver boy murmured suddenly feeling empty.

"Little one," Sentinel whispered.

"No. The ones who birthed and raised me care about me no more. I'm never going to be Sam again. I haven't been Sam since before Cybertron."

Sure in his decision, Silverstreak stood up, looking back up at the stars as he wiped away his tears. He felt strange, as if his entire world had been flipped around, and he supposed it had. He had let the others call him 'Sam' to keep ties to his Earth roots, but those roots had been severed in with one sentence. It hurt, but he had another family, one that he actually fit in with. A smile flitted over his face at the thought of Kup and his team. Yes, he fit in with them, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

"Silverstreak?" Beta asked softly.

"I'm going to bed," Silverstreak said. "If they find me, great, if not I'll walk back in the morning."

He lay down on the grass, curling his cloak around him. Sleep sucked him under slowly as the Primes' lullabies, soft and smooth, swirled around him.


	33. Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter of my old story. I'm sad to see it go, probably more so than the first time. There are no more original comments, but I hope everybody enjoys it, and I want everybody to know there is a sequel called 'Growing Pains'. That one is also complete, and I won't be touching it for a while. Have fun!

Silverstreak stretched luxuriously as he woke up. His dreams had been rather fun last night, what with Rodimus forcing them all to play games. It was a very pleasant change from all the drama he'd been through. He looked up into the sunlit sky and sighed. Time to head back to face the chaos he'd caused. Again. Silverstreak stood up and started to run, this time taking more care of the wildlife around him. Within minutes the base came into view and the youngling changed his pace to walking. Ratchet and First Aid were outside talking, and the younger medic noticed him first.

"Silverstreak!" he cried out. Ratchet spun around and both of them hurried over to examine him.

"Oh, Sam," Ratchet murmured sadly as First Aid picked the youngling up. "Mikaela and Leo explained what happened. I'm so sorry."

"My name is Silverstreak."

"What? But you've always been Sam to us," Ratchet said, confused.

"No. Silverstreak is what I want to be called," Silverstreak replied. "I have no reason to be called Sam anymore."

"As you wish, Silverstreak," the green medic said quietly after a moment.

"Thanks, Ratch," Silverstreak said with a soft smile.

After the two medics had checked him over for wounds, they carried him inside. The human soldiers were very quiet around him and wouldn't even glance up at him, which was strange as he was usually openly stared at. Silverstreak ignored it, and soon he was in the Autobots rec room. The youngling's spark sank when he saw Bumblebee leaning against the wall, looking like he was in pain. He lowered his head when his guardian's optics onlined to look at him.

"Sam," he whispered, reaching for the boy.

"My name is Silverstreak," came the reply.

"No. I shall call you Sam as often as I want," Bumblebee replied matter-of-factly, his tone of voice leaving no room for argument.

"Why do you have to be difficult?"

Bumblebee laughed. "I'm the difficult one?" he challenged and was met with laughter from the other Autobots.

Ratchet deposited the now pouting youngling into the yellow mech's hands. Bumblebee pulled Silverstreak into his chest, frowning when the boy struggled.

"What's wrong Sam?"

"Why do you keep forgiving me for hurting you?" Silverstreak demanded, using his hair to hide his face. Bumblebee's holo-form appeared in front of him, sweeping the silver strands away from his boy's face.

"Because I'm your friend, and that's what friends do," Bumblebee stated after a moment's silence.

"You're more forgiving than I would be," Silverstreak sighed.

"I don't think so," the yellow mech replied with a soft smile. "You can be pretty forgiving, depending on the mech."

Silverstreak fell silent, fiddling with the edge of his cloak for a moment before dropping it and reaching for the painful looking cut that he'd inflicted the night before. Bumblebee shuddered under his gentle hands, but allowed his boy to touch him. The cut still sparked with some of his electricity. Feeling worse than ever, Silverstreak pulled at it, drawing it back towards himself. To his immense surprise, it actually worked. The yellow mech gasped and arched up as electricity visibly arced to the youngling, disappearing into the small silver body. Silverstreak sat down hard, gasping in surprise. Ratchet was next to them in a second.

"How did you do that?" he demanded.

"I-I don't know," Silverstreak said with a shake to his head.

"It doesn't hurt as much now," Bumblebee said, his voice full of awe.

Ratchet started gently going over the wound again, amazed at how much the irritation had gone down. He glanced over at the youngling and laughed.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"

"I guess," Silverstreak muttered as he lay down on Bumblebee's chest. He felt dizzy and slightly ill.

Bumblebee was immediately concerned. "Put it back, Sam."

"What?" Silverstreak asked, blearily looking up at his guardian.

"It hurt you so put it back," Bumblebee replied.

"No! I-I'll be fine in a second," the youngling said. "This happens every time I find out I can do something new."

"What happens?" Ratchet asked curiously. Silverstreak didn't answer, his eyes closing tiredly.

"He gets tired. Sometimes sick, sometimes not. Depends on what it is," First Aid replied for him.

"He just never ceases to amaze me," Ratchet chuckled.

First Aid smiled. "Yeah. Me too."

Silverstreak opened his eyes as the nausea and dizzy spell passed, sitting up slowly. He was still a bit tired, but he would recharge later. Bumblebee's optics shined in happiness at seeing his boy was alright. He cupped him in a hand, his face taking on a sad look.

"Mikaela told us what happened," he said softly.

Silverstreak looked down. "Yeah. I've heard."

"You belong with us anyways," Cliffjumper said with a growl. "We're your family."

"I know. I'm over it now," Silverstreak said with a nod. "It hurt, but I still have you guys."

Ironhide looked at the red mech, gave Silverstreak a grin, and walked over to him. "Hey. You're Cliffjumper, right?"

Cliffjumper's optics widened in surprise. "Um, yeah," he managed after staring reverently at the black mech for a moment without saying a word.

"Heh. How'd you like to train with me some time? Silverstreak tells me you're pretty good," Ironhide said, trying not to chuckle at the expression on the red mech's face.

"I-I'd love to!" Cliffjumper squeaked, sounding like an excited sparkling.

As the room filled with laughter, Silverstreak settled into his guardian's hands. Sure, he was different and his family just abandoned him, but he still had his Cybertronian friends. And a few human friends. Will, Robert, Mikaela, and Leo all came in, asking what everybody was laughing about. Silverstreak waved at them and received a friendly wave back. A smile stretched over his face and he relaxed. He would cry out his pains to Bumblebee later. Right now, he just wanted to hang out with his friends.

_No,_ he thought, looking around. _They're family._


End file.
